You're the One
by Tales from a Teacup
Summary: [Takes place while Leo is absent in TMNT 2007] Raphael stumbles upon another vigilante while he is out being the Nightwatcher. Over time, he actually becomes fond with the girl and feels like he is developing feelings for her but wonders if she would feel the same if she figured out that he wasn't human but actually a teenage mutant ninja turtle.
1. A Little Help

Raphael gazed at the City from a skyscraper. It was pretty late out but that didn't follow for the city that never sleeps, especially with crime. He let his mind drift off to when he didn't have to don on this metal suit that he had to fashion from scrapes. Just a year ago, it was just him and his brothers in the night, slipping silently through the shadows and fighting the Foot Clan. But even his old nemesis seemed to have left with his brother in tow. Raphael suddenly felt that sinking feeling of missing him once more, making him growl to himself and shake it off. He decided to listen to his intercom as a police line spoke of something promising.

Raphael perked up, "Home invasion"

Raph turned north and started to scale down the building, noting how difficult it was in his armour. He recognized the neighborhood as not being too far from where he was.

"Hello, sunshine" Raph said to his motorcycle.

"What you say that we go kick some ass, huh?" He revved up his motorcycle, "Come on, just one tonight. The officers are probably still wiping jelly off of their stomachs in the diner. We'll go home after this. What do you say?"

Raph made the engine roar as he zipped past people in their cars. He didn't care so much about them seeing him right now. He was already spotted a couple of nights ago, Raph wouldn't be surprised if they gave him an interesting name once this story leaks out.

"Furs Avenue coming up" Raph muttered as he slowed his motorcycle down to a stop, "Time to make these guys wish they listened to their mothers tonight"

He easily followed the way the burglars came into the house as he flipped inside.

Raph scanned the room as he already heard a woman whimpering from up the stairs. It almost angered him when he heard a boy pleading for the men to leave their house. He edged himself out of the room and started to slowly make his way over to the stairs. He really wished that he could've found an entrance upstairs but his suit wasn't as light as he wished it was. Raph had to do it the hard way, the non-ninja way. Still Raph reached the back of the room without being noticed as he picked up his boot and slammed it into the door, making the family in their scream.

"Sorry everybody" Raph let out, "But I heard this was a home invasion"

He turned to the closest man to him and punched the man and threw him over to another person aiming his gun at him. Raph turned and started charging over to another man as this one actually knew how to fight. He noticed that there were six men in this room with only a family of five sitting at the end near the wall. Raph felt someone jump onto his back as he growled in underneath his mask. Now it seemed like he was in big trouble as one by one everyone started to gang up on him. He felt the person on his back start to take off his helmet.

"Oh, no!" Raph gasp.

"Hey!" someone yelled from the other part of the room as a black suit came in, "Who are the bad guys?"

Raph let out, "They are"

Raph could see a wicked smile come on as the female came charging in. At first, Raph didn't think she would do much good but get in the way until she kicked someone off of him. The man let out a yelp as he was flown through the window by the force. Everyone turned to her, amazed.

"Wow…"

The turtle took this time to get himself out of the tangles of human crooks and fought them off with this mysterious girl by his side. Raph let out a roll of chains and wound them around the crooks as the girl took this time to untie the family.

Raph quickly slipped out of the house before the family could notice him leaving as he ran over to his bike.

"I'm surprised" Raph skidded to a stop, "No thank you?"

"Why would I thank you?"

The girl scoffed, "Because I just saved your life! If I hadn't had come in then you would've been dead"

"I had everything under control" he turned around and looked to her, "What are you even doing out here anyways? Aren't you supposed to be off reading gossip magazines, painting your toenails, or feeding your cat at home?"

The girl let out a laugh as she turned around, "You wish. I'll see you around, hothead"

Raph muttered as he watched the masked girl walk casually away, "Yeah, right… and I'm not a hothead"


	2. Nightwatcher

"Morning, Raph. Or should I say, good afternoon" Donatello let out.

Raph scrunched up his eyes, "Afternoon? What are you talking bout? It's 9 in the morning"

"It was nearly 5 hours ago, it's 1:58 right now" Don replied from his laptop.

"Damn" Raph stretched out his shell as he walked over to the kitchen.

Donatello kept going on, "You do realize that breaks your last record. You usually wake up before 1:40. I don't see why though? It's not like you do anything for the family. Just eat, sleep, and weight lift"

Raph scoffed as he took out milk from the fridge, "I do more than you'll ever know"

"Sure you do"

"You got something to say to my face, little brother? You seem to be quite mouthy now that Leo's gone"

"Leo is coming back, you know" Don paused, "He just hasn't responded to any of our calls in a while"

Raph let out, "Because he wants to forget about us!"

Don turned and set his eyes on his brother, "He wouldn't abandon family"

"Then why haven't we heard from him in six months, Donnie?!" Raph snapped, "Wake up and smell the pizza, alright?"

Before Donnie could respond, a set of rolling wheels was heard as Mikey skated in with a huge smile on his lips, "He did it again"

"Who did?" Donnie and Raph asked.

Mikey beamed as he thrust out a newspaper and threw it down onto the table. Raph rolled his eyes as he picked up leftover pizza and walked over to the table. The three brothers gazed down at the front page where a bunch of crooks were tied up in the middle of a master bedroom. Raph couldn't help but smirk as he recognized the family talking in the background as the boy actually looked happy and enthusiastic about telling his side of the story.

Mikey spoke up, "They're calling him the Nightwatcher"

Raph cringed as he thought the name was a pathetic one but then he stopped mid-way. He wasn't the only one there last night. He remembered a black bodysuit with a black mask. The way the girl was joyful at helping out and wanted a thank you. Raph wondered if she ever got fit into the article somewhere.

"Mikey, you honestly don't believe this, do you?" Don asked.

"What are you talking about?" Mikey countered.

"He's just some guy looking for some form of credit or adrenaline rush"

"Then what the hell were we doing when we went up to the surface? Picking flowers for mom's party?"

"Do you mind, Raph, I'm trying to teach our brother a lesson" Don looked over to Raph with a peeved look, "Someone's got to"

Raph waved up both of his arms, "Sorry, sweetheart"

Mikey rolled his eyes, "The guy is a genius"

Raph walked over and sat down at a chair as he watched something that he wouldn't see everyday. Donnie and Mikey were at it once more, a rare sight to see. Ever since Leo's been gone it seemed like Mikey and Donnie have been arguing a lot more than usual. But not as much and full of intensity as Leo and Raph did back then. As much as Raph didn't want to admit it, he kind of hated seeing his little brothers act this way. It kind of reminded him that things were still out of order with their family.

"He's probably got some kind of bad history behind all of this" Don went on, "I guarantee you that he was some form of black sheep in one way or another"

Mikey huffed, "And what were we, Don? We helped for the good of the people. Why can't another vigilante do the same?"

"Because we weren't vigilante's, we actually had a mission, remember? When Master Splinter was kidnapped?" Donnie cringed as he looked over his shoulder.

Mikey nodded, "By the Shredder, we remember. But that got us out of our shells and looked at how much good we've done"

"The glory days are over, you guys" Donnie reminded, "We've done our part in the world and now we gotta settle down and lay low for a while"

Raph couldn't help but let out a laugh that broke up the banter between the younger siblings. He couldn't believe how much Donnie wanted to admit that their ninja days were all in the past. Mikey would agree but given the chance that someone tries to challenge him, the youngest wouldn't even bat an eye before taking out his nunchucks. Then there's Raph who still can't kick the habit of the adrenaline fighting off crime. The only thing was, the other two didn't know that really they were arguing about Raph and have no idea.

"And now you guys are just off doing computer services and party planning" Raph shook his head, "Hysterical"

Donnie rolled his eyes, "You know what I mean"

Before he could say anymore, Raph waved him off and got up and walked over to the couch. He could hear Mikey pick up his skateboard and walk off to the sewers. He does that a lot now since training seems to be at a pause now that the Golden Leader had left for the jungle and hasn't returned. He plopped down onto the couch and turned on the TV.

Raph watched the news as they talked about the Nightwatcher, giving off a name finally. In the picture, they have only a shadow as Raph chuckled to himself. It wasn't even him that they claimed to have taken a picture of.

He listened intently as he waited for someone to mention the female that crashed his party. He let out a frustrated sigh as he realized that they decided to move on to a different topic.

"Who in the hell was she?" Raph muttered.

Raph rolled his eyes as he realized how he was going to get his answer. He was going to have to go out and search for crimes once more.

"Fantastic" Raph sighed.


	3. Casey & April

The lair door opened to reveal April and Casey later that day, "Hello, everyone!"

"How's it going, dudes?" Mikey smiled.

"Ready for some dinner?" April showed she offered food.

Mikey looked at the bowl, "Is there pizza in there?"

Casey replied, "Not this time, buddy"

"Aw, man. Why not?" Mikey slumped.

"It will be refreshing" Donnie chirped in.

April nodded, "Plus, you will love it, Mikey. I made spicy chicken and pasta. I'm sure even you won't say no to this. And of course a side salad with some olive oil vinegar dressing"

Raph sighed as he folded his arms over his chest. He was hoping that he would've been able to slip away early tonight but he completely forgot about April and Casey. April had found a cookbook and wanted them to try out her food, something about trying to wean them away from junk food or something like that. Everyone suddenly became silent as the door to the training room opened as a large rat came out. Master Splinter walked over, balancing on a walking stick as he made his way over to the group that was gathering. When he saw the two humans in front of him, he smiled gently at them.

He said, "Casey, April. Welcome. We haven't seen each other in a while. How is everything from up above? No dangers, I presume. At least, none that should be unusual. I've been looking forward to this meal for a while. Come, let us eat"

April nodded as Donnie took the plate that she was carrying over to the kitchen table as Mikey cleared away the boxes. Raph felt a slap on his shell as he turned and noticed his friend standing next to him. He gave him a smirk as they fist bumped each other. Raph took his usual place at the table as Casey sat next to him and April sat on the other side of the human. Mikey took off the foil from the dinner as the steam lifted up to the ceiling.

"Tada!" April blushed, "Dig in. I wanna know what you guys think of it. I would ask Casey but he likes everything"

Casey shrugged, "If it's edible then I love it"

Raph served himself a little bit of everything before he cautiously took a bite of the salad. He couldn't understand why other turtles love salad, it's just so plain. He moved to the pasta, at least that's something that he will enjoy. He looked up as he wondered what everyone else thought about the food.

"It's very lovely" Donnie first spoke up.

Raph tried his best to hide his smirk as he sort of knew that it would be Donnie to be the kiss ass. He always seems to be the one who is the first to compliment April. He exchanged a look from Mikey as they both thought that Don still had a crush on April.

"I agree, April" Master Splinter said next, "We should have you come over more often. This food is splendid"

"Do you know where this spicy chicken would taste best on?" Mikey suggested, "Pizza! Oh, I'm definitely going to try it on some tomorrow"

April shrank down her shoulders as she let out a huff. Mikey clearly forgot why she was making food in the first place.

"You can't, remember?" Raph told his brother, "You ate the last of the pizza. There's none left. Besides, this doesn't need to go on pizza. It tastes just fine by itself. It's really good, April. Even I have to say that the chicken is spicy"

"Really?" April chirped up, "Thank you, Raph! It's great getting a compliment from you"

Casey turned to Raph as Donnie spoke, "Hey. What're you trying to pull? You never give off compliments. Even when you loved the last dinner she brought over"

Raph shrugged, "I don't know what you're talking about. I actually enjoy it"

"Yeah, right" Casey then widened his eyes, "Wait a minute. You're not going to go up, are you? To the surface. Are you seriously doing it?"

Raph hissed, "Yes, now will you keep it down? I want to leave before anyone notices and I am _not_ going to have you ruin this opportunity for me"


	4. I Don't Care

"Come on. Where are you?" she mumbled.

"Looking for someone?"

"What?" the girl turned around to see a metal suit behind her, "How did you do that?"

Raph shrugged, "I'm just full of surprises. What about you? You go by any kind of name or should I just be calling you Party Crasher"

She placed a hand on her hips, "Excuse me? Party Crasher?"

"I had it just fine" Raph said through the helmet.

She scoffed, "Over my dead body. You were getting outnumbered, _Nightwatcher"_

"So you've read the article" Raph huffed, "I was hoping you wouldn't. Could they have picked a better name?"

She chuckled, "Who hasn't? People are pretty curious on who you are"

"Same here" Raph responded, "Why weren't you in the article? I don't understand. The family saw you there"

"You came first"

"That doesn't matter" Raph retorted.

"I'm glad I wasn't in it" she continued, "Now people will be looking out for you. I'd rather be invisible"

"If you really wanted to be invisible then you probably would've picked to avoid looking for me" Raph remarked, "So what's your name?"

"What's yours?" She countered.

Raph let out a chuckle as she moved her position as he could tell she was trying to figure him out as well. Her green eyes seemed to stand out behind her eye mask as she tried to look brave. Now that he isn't fighting off crooks now he is actually seeing the girl for the first time. But one thing keeps replaying in his mind about that night. The way she punched; the man soared across the room and through the window. Even he couldn't do that.

An ambulance siren was sounded echoing up to them from the streets of New York City. The cold air bit onto her skin, causing a blush to rise to her cheeks. He wondered what made her choose to fight crime. He had to admit that this was one of the first humans, that aren't ninjas, to actually go looking for trouble. He's been training his whole life and by the looks of how she fought, she only knew the basics.

"My real name is Raphael. Can I get your name now?" Raph restarted.

She chuckled, "You think that you by telling me your name I'm going to fess up mine? I'm not that friendly"

"Oh, come on!"

He thrust out his hands in the air as she turned around and started to pace. The other teenager found this thing sort of amusing as she smirked at him. She took a look behind her as she listened to the cars honking at one another. She looked back at him as she brushed a wisp of hair away from her face.

"Why should I give you my name?"

"Because we can help each other" Raph blurted out, "I mean, just as allies. Not a Batman and Robin kind of thing"

"Why? You don't find wearing a yellow cape suits you?" she teased.

Raph growled, "Alright, you think you're funny. You're lucky I'm not walking away from this right now"

She slightly gave off a glare as if to study him. Raphael suddenly felt self-conscious and somehow wondered if she could see him through his helmet.

"I'll be able to find you" she replied back, "Your angst and frustration is so strong that it's almost overwhelming. You've been holding onto it for so long"

Despite himself, Raph took a small step back.

"What are you?" he asked, "Some kind of psychic? You got any other magic tricks up your sleeve?"

She rolled her eyes, "Psychic? Really? That's what you come up with"

"I guess it's better than Party Crasher" Raph responded, "Just because I'm annoyed now doesn't mean that I am always like that. I just hate playing games. Don't need to make assumptions on me"

"You know it's not. You're just covering it up. I guess that's why you come out at night to beat up a bunch of crooks. It's a great stress reliever"

"And what about you? What's your excuse?"

She took her time to talk but she finally spoke up, "I hate injustice. Especially when the criminals get away. Do you know why they get away? Because of traffic. It pisses me off to no end. I love my city but I want to see justice be done for once"

Raph replied, "I don't need to read minds in order to know somehow you've been wronged by it. Is that why you go out?"

"I'm tired of feeling how scared others are"

"What does that mean?"

"Nothing" she said suddenly but then hesitated, "But it does mean that you can learn my name. It's Wilmarie"

Raph slowly nodded, "Wilmarie. That's unique. Great. I guess we can help each other out with clearing out the streets. What do you say?"


	5. Helpers

A man shouldered a police officer as he gave him a glare as the officer roughly pushed him into the cop car. His partner was consoling the scared couple as they looked at the group who tried to mug them. Up above on the roof Wilmarie and Raphael stared down at the justice being formed. He knew they were going to talk about how the Nightwatcher was there but he knew they wouldn't talk about Wilmarie. The alley was pitchblack with the headlights completely out but still, Wilmarie fought like as if it was the afternoon. A siren woke him up out of his thoughts as the police car drove away.

"They seem pretty happy" Wilmarie commented.

"Yup" Raph said beside her, "I'm sure they will love the Big House as their new home. I'm sure a couple of guys will think they're a pretty looking bunch as well"

Wilmarie laughed, "They deserved it. Trying to mug those two people on a date"

Raphael responded, "Good thing we were here in time"

"Yup" Wilmarie nodded, "Lucky intuition, I guess. Good thing you listened to me, right?"

Raph wrapped his arms over his chest, "Sure it is. You just so happened to know what alley they were in. That seems more than just lucky"

"Oh come on, don't tell me you're still going on about the psychic crap. Do you know how delusional you sound?" Wilmarie rolled her eyes, "There's no such thing as magic. This is reality"

"You wouldn't be saying that if you had seen the things I've seen. I was only saying that because the person was gagged. Half the time whenever I follow you to the scenes of the crimes, they're the ones that haven't been reported yet. I know you're hiding something from me"

Wilmarie was about to counter with something smart when a beep was heard on her wrist. They both knew what that meant as she checked her watch, four hours until sunrise. Together they walked away and started to call it a night. As much as Wilmarie wanted to stay out and stop someone just one more time, she could feel a yawn coming on as her eyes started to get heavy. She glanced over to the guy next to her head to toe in nothing but a metal suit and helmet.

She had to ask, "Why the suit?"

Raph shrugged, "Identity is everything. Don't want to give it away so easily. You trying to go for a Catwoman thing in that black jumpsuit?"

"Alright, I get it. And it's warm, flexible, and the only thing I had mysterious in my closet" Wilmarie responded.

Raphael teased, "Right next to the cheerleading outfit?"

Wilmarie rolled her eyes, "You wish! If there's anyone here that's the cheerleader, it's got to be you. How do you flip so gracefully like that?"

Raph scoffed, "That wasn't graceful, it was sloppy. Without this suit on it would've been better. Sometimes it's suffocating"

"Then why not take it off? I mean, when there's a small patch of quiet in the night. You know I won't tell anyone who the infamous Nightwatcher is. It'll be my own secret" Wilmarie said with a slight hope in her voice.

"Trust me, you don't want to know. It's better if I wear this around you. Here's where we go our separate ways. See you next time, Will"

Wilmarie nodded as she turned to climb down the fire escape but then stopped. She turned back around to see where the Nightwatcher ran off to but like all the other nights, he disappeared. She would've ran around the roof like how she does many times before, but she wouldn't. Wilmarie knows that the mysterious Nightwatcher vanishes and arrives as quietly as the wind.


	6. Life

Wilmarie jolted awake as she felt herself leaning off towards the side of the desk. She blinked as she tried to regain consciousness but she could feel her body already wanting to lay back down. She glanced up at the clock as she realized that the bell should be ringing soon as the tutor continued to lecture. Usually she loved Psychology but seeing how her teacher was out with the flu, Wilmarie just has to settle with this monotone tutor who probably doesn't even know the difference between a psychologist or a psychiatrist. A shrill bell made the young student jump once more before breathing a sigh of relief as she got her stuff. She stuffed her books back into her bag and hoisted them over her shoulders, already counting down the minutes until she could go back home and sleep on her bed.

"That's it for today class" Wilmarie's teacher said, "Don't forget that your projects due tomorrow"

Wilmarie slowly got up just as a boy bumped into her, "You slept in class again"

"I was working on the project" Wilmarie stifled a yawn, "Tweaking it. I'm still not too sure if I want to even turn it in tomorrow"

"Wil, it's called a deadline" George, her friend, mentioned, "It means that ready or not, you should turn it in"

"I'm a perfectionist" Wilmarie shrugged.

George sighed, "I was afraid you would say that. It makes me wonder how we became such close friends. Maybe you can come over and help with finishing my project?"

Wilmarie glared at him, "I did your homework four days ago, remember? You used up all of your help citations for this month. You gotta do it on your own"

"Damn" George cursed, "I knew I should've done that Foreign Languages homework myself"

Wilmarie scoffed as she and George bounded down the stairs of their school as the last of the summer's heat seemed to radiate on the ground casting waves. The feeling felt refreshing yet suffocating at the same time, she heard that there will be another heatwave coming soon and Wilmarie was not looking forward to jumping around at night when it comes along. She drifted off as she thought about Raphael and knew he must be coming out tonight; he always does. Wilmarie scanned the courtyard briefly feeling everyone's emotions, trying to pinpoint a certain alarming degree of angst scattering off of someone but like many times before, she doesn't feel it. The mysterious Raphael isn't in this courtyard, sadly enough as she was starting to wonder what he looked like under his helmet.

Wilmarie continued their conversation, "It's the 27th of September. I thought you told me that you wanted to do as much homework as you can? "

" _Try_ to do as much homework" George corrected.

Wilmarie nodded, "Right. Of course you said that. But I won't be doing this forever, you know?"

"I know. Then I guess that'll mean that I will have to leach off of someone else for a change" George wrapped his arm around her playfully

Wilmarie rolled her eyes, "Jerk"

George laughed, "I was just kidding! That homework assignment was pretty tough. And not only that, we already have a project due in psychology in the first month?"

"It's not even that bad! We did a Myers-Briggs test and all he wants us to do is present a poster about our type and how it relates to us. It's fun when you get into it" Wilmarie tried to help.

"Well, we did figure out that my type is a procrastinator. Hey, did you hear about the Nightwatcher last night?"

Wilmarie pretended to become interested in what George was saying as he went on and on about the Nightwatcher. If only Raph could see what influence he had on teenagers around his school. It seemed like everyone talks about him on a daily basis. Some were even trying to figure out who he could really be when he's just walking amongst us.

"George, I read the newspaper already" Wilmarie rolled her eyes.

George scoffed, "Well, sorry. I thought you would be more interested in this kind of stuff"

Wilmarie kicked a can out of her way as they walked up her block, "I do, it's just not really interesting. Hearing about some sort of vigilante over and over again. Gets kind of tiring, you know?"

"You can't possibly be saying that! I'm sure your father would've-" George stopped and looked over to Wilmarie as she froze in place, "I'm so sorry. It just came out"

Wilmarie shook her head, "Don't worry about it. It's been a while, remember?"

"May, isn't a while, Will" George replied gently, "You know if you want to talk about it-"

"You're here for me" Wilmarie nodded, "I got it. I have to go inside, alright?"

George could only nod as Wilmarie bounded up the stairs and opened the door before she leaned on it and closed her eyes. She took in a deep breath as a lump slowly disappeared from her throat. Wilmarie licked her lips and looked over to the first shelf where there was a picture of her father and older sister arm and arm, smiling from ear to ear. She kissed her two fingers, brought them to the picture and then separated them so that both tips touched their faces.

"I miss you guys"


	7. Say Goodbye

Raphael stared long and hard at his little brother as he was waiting for Mikey to crack up and say that this was a complete joke.

Raph glared, "You've got to be kidding me, right?"

Mikey smiled and shrugged, "It would be interesting"

"Dressing up as a ninja turtle so little kids ain't my thing" Raph dismissed his brother.

"We aren't dressing up as turtles if we already are turtles" Mikey continued.

Raph rolled his eyes, "Why don't you ask Donnie to do it with you?"

He turned and started to walk back over to the lair, he suddenly didn't feel like running with Mikey just to keep in shape. Mikey ran to catch up to him and let his crystal blue eyes try to pierce into Raph's soul.

Mikey went on, "Donnie kind of already has a job"

Raph scoffed, "Right, being at his computer all day"

Mikey interrupted, "Well, yeah, he does work for a tech phone line, dude"

"You can't be serious?" Raph stopped in his tracks and looked at his brother.

Mikey nodded, "He started it on Friday"

Raph shook his head as he figured he knew where this was going. Donnie somehow whispered all of this into Mikey's ear and now the youngest is relaying the message back to him. Raph did an effortless hop over the sewer water as his brother did the same.

Raph mumbled, "Donnie wants me to get a job"

"Who mentioned anything about Donnie?" Mikey asked.

"Because it was Donnie who was drilling me the other day about getting a job and providing for the family, Mikey" Raph turned to him, "Jeez, and here I thought that having Leo not around would ease off the magnifying glass on me"

Mikey put in, "I just want a partner to do all of this with"

Raph placed his hands on his shell, "You really would trust me with a room full of kids?"

Mikey opened his mouth, ready to encourage his brother that he would be great with kids when he suddenly stopped. All he could hear and see kids screaming and running away from Raph. His business would burst into flames before it could even start. He cringed as he thought about all the medical insurances they would have to pay because of Raph.

Mikey shrugged, "Maybe you can work as a trainer?"

Raph motioned to his body, "You're kind of missing a big feature here, pal"

"Oh come on, there has to be something you're good at" Mikey let out.

"There is" Raph mentioned, "And that's kicking ninja ass"

Mikey sighed, "Yeah, I miss those days"

Raph took a sideways glance over to Mikey who kicked a can off to the other side of the walkway. His head was so lowered that he was sure Mikey was going to go completely into his shell. He wondered if he should tell Mikey about going out at night, it would make him happy. He did take notice on how much he stood up to Don about the vigilante. Maybe it would be great to have Mikey at his side?

Raph suggested, "You know just because Leo's not here doesn't mean that we can't do the things we used to"

"Yeah, and get caned by Master Splinter" Mikey scoffed.

"I'm serious, Mikey" Raph let out.

"So am I" Mikey countered, surprising Raph, "As much as I loved going out and fighting, it would feel wrong without Leo. We promised to stay underground and that's what I'm planning on doing… well, I mean when it comes to being a ninja that is"

"And pretending to be a stuffed turtle for pizza parties is better than the life we once had?" Raph challenged.

Mikey opened his mouth to say something but the shrill screech of a subway came out from the distance. Raph decided not to say anything more, he didn't want Mikey to know about his Nightwatcher persona. In a way, he was kind of relieved, if Wilmarie saw Mikey in the same shape then she would definitely wonder what was under the suit. Besides, Mikey probably wouldn't be able to keep a secret even if he tried. For now, fighting crimes would be just left for him and Wilmarie. Mikey sighed as he decided to speak up, making Raph forget that he even asked his youngest brother a question.

Mikey shrugged, "If our family was in danger than yeah, I would do something but for now, I'm not up for it"

Raph lied, "I guess we all are"

Mikey perked up, "Until Leo gets back though!"

"Right…" Raph rolled his eyes as he walked away from his brother.

"So you're saying no to being a birthday party entertainer, right?" Mikey called out.


	8. All About Revenge

The Nightwatcher scanned the streets, "Come on, give me something good. I'm in a mood for some ass-whoopin'

Just as Raphael mumbled that, he heard an urgent news about some inmate from prison who escaped, possibly armed and dangerous. Raph was about to take this as his own mission but listened in on how many people were calling in to confirm that they were on their way. Too many for just one single guy, leaving all of New York City defenseless. He growled to himself as he wanted so badly to pick up on that job and cursed all of the policemen, eager to do the same thing he was thinking about doing. He took a hold of his handles as he waited impatiently for another call to come in as he heard sirens zoom by him. No wonder he's in the news when these bozos are doing nothing but being all at the same crime scene instead of just one car per unit.

Raphael sighed, "Come on"

" _We have a disturbance of a set of teenagers vandalizing all down Worshire Street, can anyone come in?"_ A female voice came through.

Raph, "About damn time!"

He revved up his motorcycle, spun it around, and headed downtown. He zipped by the main street as the occasional cars honked as he steered in front of them. A smirk was plastered on his face as he tried his best to get there on time. Hey, it wasn't what he wanted but by all means, he will take what he can get on his first crime of the night. He drove into Worshire and noticed how completely trashed it was as he couldn't believe that it was only just two kids doing this all on their own.

He looked up to see that the teenagers hadn't noticed that he had arrived as he bent down on his motorcycle, thinking about scaring them first. Something in his peripheral view made him turn as he noticed a slender body move through the shadows and closer to the boys. A flash of blonde hair made Raph noticed that it was Wilmarie planning on creeping up to them. Instead of gritting his teeth and moving faster so that he could claim the crime, the Nightwatcher decided to remain hidden and see what Wilmarie was capable of all on her own.

A crash came through the street as the boys threw a trash can into a nearby window and laughed to each other. The boys turned and gaze eachother a high five before a trashcan collided into them, sending the boys down onto the ground. Raph couldn't help but chuckle under his breath at how Wilmarie found humor in getting their attention.

The boys both popped up from the ground and stood completely still as they looked at Wilmarie standing completely still with her hands on his shoulders. The guys both glanced to each other before they started to charge at her.

She brought out both of her hands and stopped them as she grabbed a hold of their shirts.

Raphael couldn't help but let out a gasp as he realized what he was witnessing. She had both guys at their shirts, they clearly looked stronger than her but yet they weren't overpowering her. Slowly, Wilmarie lifted up her hands and raised them over her head as the boys dangled at her grasp. She turned and threw a man down the opposite end of the street as she turned her attention to the other guy. She started to talk to him as he answered her in a shaky voice, not knowing what he was witnessing. Raph tried to listen in but both his helmet and the police radio were distracting him from knowing what she was saying to them.

The guy behind her had slowly started to get him as he took out a knife and charged at Wilmarie. All she did was turn around and clothesline him, sending the man onto the ground as she kicked the knife away from him. She placed her boot down onto his chest as the second guy struggled to pull her leg off of him. Raph only heard Wilmarie yell out _Tell him_ before the radio went on again. He quickly turned it off before he looked back down the street to see what Wilmarie was doing now.

The sound of sirens were coming from a distance as she grabbed a hold of the boy on the floor and started to wrap a piece of rope around the set of boys as she tied them together on the fence. She pulled tightly which made the guys both grunt and curse at her. Wilmarie turned around and smacked the guys on the back of their heads as they let out a groan. She took a step back as she admired her work before she turned and started to walk down the street before she turned and looked directly into the pitch-black alleyway that Raph was in.

She stopped before she slowly walked up to him, "Well, you couldn't have come here slow enough. Had to do your work for you. Let's just make sure these guys-"

"I saw what you did" Raph let out, "You picked those kids up like they were babies. I thought that it was just my mind playing tricks on me the first time but now I saw it again"

"I don't know what you're talking about" Wilmarie brushed past him.

"What are you?" Raph reached out and grabbed her arm.

Wilmarie turned back to him, "Human"

Raph scoffed, "Humans don't throw guys twice their muscle mass down the street like that"

"You really want to start an interrogation now when the cops could easily come down this alley and find us, Raph?" Wilmarie challenged, "We have to get out of here"

Raph went onto his bike, "Then let's get out of here. I've asked you about this before and you denied it. What's with the secrets? Hop on, I'll find us a nice and cozy place to talk. That is, if that's okay with you? Don't want you going all the Hulk on my bike"

Wilmarie rolled her eyes as she figured that that would be an original punchline. She hopped onto the back of his motorcycle as she looped her hands onto his arms as he turned and zoomed out of the neighborhood. She let out a squeal as she couldn't help but feel energized and completely terrified at the sametime.

They zipped right past a police car as they headed in the direction of the two little thug-wannabes. She turned around and watched at the cars turned down the street to Worshire.

Wilmarie turned back around and gasped as Raphael merged in and out of traffic without losing his speed.

She couldn't help but look around her as she only saw a kaleidoscope of colors fly by her in one big blur. She looked at the back of the Nightwatcher's helmet as she all of a sudden felt nervous. What was she going to tell him? How much did he see? Did he hear her demanding where Julius was and where are his whereabouts? Wilmarie cleared her throat as she felt the motorcycle slowing down.

She looked around as she noticed that they were going into a lake park that was usually empty at night. Smart man. He knew they wouldn't get any interruptions in here. But why should she be spilling out her business to him? He was the one who never takes off his mask.

"Thanks for the ride" Wilmarie commented.

"You have super strength, what else can you do?" Raph demanded, "Fly?"

Wilmarie scoffed, "No, true I have unnatural strength, I can feel others emotions, see in the dark, and also heal. I don't know how I came to have all of these unusual gifts, alright? It just sort of tapped in right after my father and older sister died"

Raph calmed down, "So that's why you fight? Something happened to your family. You want revenge"

"Doesn't everybody?" Wilmarie huffed, "I know who did it and they need to be put down. My father was a cop looking for this notorious street thug. He was close to pinning him down when they were both murdered"

"Will" Raph walked over to her as she folded her arms over her chest, "You can't go after someone that big. Yeah, you have great abilities to back you up but other than that, you're screwed"

"I could've saved them and now I've got to avenge them" Wilmarie commented.

"It ain't right" Raph shook his head, "You will answer to the same fate that both your father and older sister did"

"You don't know what it's like! I have the ability to heal, if I tapped into those powers sooner than they would still be alive! Now Julius must pay for the pain and suffering he brought onto my family. If it means to crush every bone in his miserable body than so be it!"


	9. Soft Spot

Raphael listened to every word that Wilmarie said as she told him about her father and sister's tragic end. How just one night, out of frustration, she picked up her chair and threw it to the wall making it shatter to pieces. Not long after that, she was able to heal, see in the dark, and feel others emotions. She blames the death of her loved ones for the gifts she now possesses. She believes that this is some kind of fulfillment that she must do; destroy the man who murdered her father and she will return to normal. But Raph knew that that will never be the ending of her story, just the beginning.

Wilmarie didn't have to order Raph to take off his helmet to know what his face was showing as she told him her story. She could sense his emotions as he seemed sorry for her lost as she also sensed a little bit of worry on her part and the need to protect. He was silent as he leaned on his motorcycle with his arms folded and his head to the ground. Wilmarie didn't want him to talk anymore, she knew what he would say. How can she pin down the biggest criminal in their city with just a couple of abilities she was cursed with.

Wilmarie sighed, "I know you've gotten to know each other over the last few busts but this is why I'm doing it. All of the people I've been targeting have been somehow linked to him. I guess you should just steer clear from me if you don't want to get hurt"

Wilmarie turned around and took a step toward the trail that would lead her out of the park when a hand grabbed onto her arm. She stopped as she stared out into the darkness, not wanting to turn around. Somehow, while being frozen in place, she couldn't help but notice that she only felt three fingers gripping onto her wrist. The thought vanished as Raphael turned her around, placed two hands onto her arms and made her gaze at her own reflection.

He said, "I didn't come out here to pick flowers, remember? The reason why you're after that crook is the same reason I fight so people can sleep at night. Besides, you can't fight"

"Excuse me? I've brought plenty of criminals into prison before you came long, _Nightwatcher_ " Will folded her arms over her chest.

Raphael dropped his hands to the side and rolled his eyes as he started to hate how cocky Wilmarie could get. He was surprised that she even lived this long. The turtle looked over to the teenager in a black suit with a mask around her eyes but even then, people could see how young she really was.

"No, it's what's almost got you killed this whole time. I've seen you fight and it's nothing more than basic punches and kicks" Raph now folded his arms over his chest.

Will stayed quiet as she looked the teenager up and down in his motorcycle meets NASA suit, "I've seen you fight as well. Have you ever thought about teaching me?"

"Hell no!" Raph yelled out in a thick Brooklyn accent, "Why should I train you? Just so that you can _think_ you know how to fight"

"I got my powers"

"Which need you to be up close and personal"

Will rolled her eyes, "Don't you always have to be"

"Not when you opponent has a gun in the back of his pants" Raph countered, "Ever thought of that?"

Will glanced down to the floor and kicked from dust up as she mumbled, "Yes. I just hoped that it wouldn't have to come down to that. With me being able to hit them through a wall and all. Julius wouldn't know what hit him"

"And you say this Julius guy is some sort of crime lord?" Raph went on, "Don't you think that he will have boys all around him trying to keep his ass from getting killed? Face it, Will! You're no match for a guy like him. Not without any help. With someone who knows how to smash the shell out of guys like that"

Will wrinkled her eyebrows together as she looked up to him, "Shell? What're you talking about?"

"It's a term that my brother's and I use" Raph mumbled, "But you're not listening to what I'm saying! I'll help you until we get that good for nothing crook!"

"Really?"

"Unfortunately"

"But why?" Will stammered, "We've only seen each other what five times? Briefly?! What's making you want to help me?"

Raph humphed, "What? You don't think I can give out a helping hand? This guys sounds like a challenge so I'm in. Don't want you to take up all the glory"

Wilmarie leaned her head off to the side as she felt Raph's emotions seep into her, wondering if feelings would actually give her an actual answer then he just did. She only got as far as feeling a soft spot for her before a curtain closed around it with a layer of frustration.

"Don't even think about it" Raph let out, "I now know what you're capable of and trust me, lady, you ain't getting no emotions out of me anymore"

Will crinkled up her nose, "No, apparently not. Do you do meditation or something? Not a lot of people know how to conceal their emotions like that. My psychology teacher has been meditating for nearly eight years and I sometimes can't get anything out from her. You don't catch me as the meditating type"

"There's not a lot of things you know about me. Some things are best kept secret so don't even push it. From now on, you have to _ask_ permission to understand my emotions, understand?" Raph flipped out, "Otherwise, I'm out. Have fun tracking down Julio without me"

Wilmarie couldn't help but smile as she rolled her eyes and let out a light laugh.

"Alright, it's agreed upon" Wilmarie nodded.

Raph humped, "So where do we start?"

Wilmarie blinked, "What? Oh, well. I didn't really make any big progress until tonight with those punks. One of them confessed on knowing where Julius was. Once his parents bail him out, then he'll deliver the message"

Raph groaned, "Let's just hope that doesn't actually happen. You either watch too many movies or read too many books, I can't really figure out which one"

"Hey!" Will placed her hands on her hips.

Raph shook his head as he walked over to his bike and climbed back on, "Back to square one"

"What're we going to do?" Wilmarie asked over the loud engine, "Try to track down his phone or something?"

"You can call it whatever you want but I usually stick to the term called _looking"_ Raph teased.

Wilmarie rolled her eyes as she climbed on behind him, "Funny do realize that even my father had a hard time tracking him down and he was a cop"

"You're father ain't like me, Will" The turtle commented as he turned his motorcycle and sped back into the city.


	10. She Loves Me Not

Raphael squinted his eyes slightly as he skimmed the internet on this Julius guy that Wilmarie kept on going on and on about. It's true that he's been the background whisper of a lot of shootings and crimes for almost five years now. His hand froze when he saw one of the recent articles pop up with a man who had Will's eyes and a girl who had a short pixie hair-style in the picture. It was the article of the killing of her father, as he skimmed down he noticed a picture of the burial with a woman and two other daughters. His eyes softened when he noticed Wilmarie on her mother's left side, leaning into her mother and crying on her shoulder. Raph heard a sound from behind him, making him jump and slam the laptop down as he looked over his shoulder to see Donnie there with his latest tech in hand.

Donatello gave him a look, "What was that you were looking at?"

"At recent news. Just because I'm underground, doesn't mean I don't like knowin' what's goin' on about my head" Raph remarked.

Donnie didn't ease up, "About an officer that was killed in action? That hasn't happened since a few months ago"

"You know about it? Do you know who did it?" Raph looked over his shoulder.

Don looked up to the ceiling as he tried to think back to what the news said, "If I remember correctly, he was killed in a driveby. Somebody recognized him, I'm assuming"

"Julius" Raph mumbled under his breath, "Makes sense to me. He was out of the streets exactly three days before he died. He was huntin"

Donnie was about to ask his brother what he was going off about when Mikey suddenly skateboarded down the stairs as he whooped. He circled around his brothers a couple of times before Raph stuck out his foot and tripped Mikey into crashing into the ground. Raphael chuckled to himself as Donatello rolled his eyes, and Michelangelo groaned from the ground. Don was about to tinker with his machine yet again when he noticed a notebook with a couple of scribbles by Raph's side. Since when did he ever care about notorious crime lords?

"So whatcha y'all doin' right now?" Mikey jumped up and sat on the armchair cross-legged.

"Oh, you know same old, same old. Making special modifications, doing super science stuff, and Raph here is just looking up cold cases" Don let out.

"Is that a crime? Ever since Leo left we've been doin nothin but sittin on our asses all day" Raph retorted.

Mikey perked up, "Speaking of crime, did you hear what happened last night? The Nightwatcher struck gold again!"

"I guess he's getting comfortable with himself here. He's been popping up more and more now" Donnie commented.

Raph mumbled, "He should. Someone has to pick off where we left off. We cleared the streets of the Foot and now crime is peaking again. Makes you wonder if we should all go out every once in awhile"

Before Donnie or Mikey could speak, Mikey's eyes became alert as he jumped up from the couch and stood up straight. Raph didn't even have to turn around to see that his father, Master Splinter just came in through the room. He turned around and looked at the rat who had a stern look on his face. Raph didn't even have to guess what was going to come out of Splinter's mouth next.

"You must not resurface until your team is complete" He said for the 114th time.

Raph sighed, "I hate to break it to you, Masta, but Leo ain't coming back. He was supposed to be back four months ago and he's done nothing but abandoned us"

"Maybe something happened to him? Don't you think that we should go down there and check on him?" Mikey pondered.

Donnie reminded his brothers "We got news back from the temple, remember? Leo had finished his training and was on his way to coming back when we lost touch"

"I guess he just didn't want to say good-bye. That good for nothing golden boy liked his damn freedom too much" Raph mumbled.

A stick slammed down, echoing in the halls, "That is enough, Raphael! We will not talk about this subject anymore! I stand by what I told all four of you nearly a year ago; no more returning to the surface until Leonardo is back! Understood?"

Donnie and Mikey both mumbled a yes as Raph humphed, picked up the laptop and notebook and walked out of the room. He couldn't believe his family was blinded by how much faith they put behind the eldest turtle. In a way, Raph got lucky, because he knew that if Master Splinter didn't care so much about Leo, he probably would've already figured out that Raph was actually the Nightwatcher from the very beginning.


	11. Something There

"So far, we've found nothing" Wilmarie huffed a couple of nights later.

Raph laughed, "Who said we didn't find anything? You might not have, but I sure did"

"What are you talking about? You never even once let me ask where Julius was" Will turned and looked over to the helmet.

Raph smirked at how forward she was, "No, but all the people we've been throwing down tonight were from his gang"

"How do you know?" Wilmarie asked.

Raph pointed down to his wrist, "Every single one of those thugs had the same brand on their wrist. It's not much but from my experience, they've pledged allegiance to the same crew. Not only that it was noted when Julius was first taken into custody"

"Really?" Wilmarie gazed up at him, "You read up on his report?"

She gazed a little bit deeper, wanting to catch a glimpse of his eyes or something to show her the truth. But hearing how he connected the dots of the thugs made Wilmarie actually feel warm inside. She didn't think that Raphael was actually here to help her, she thought he only came because of the adrenaline rush. A slight blush appeared on her cheeks as she hoped the mask covered it as she quickly turned away. It felt good to actually have someone on her side and not let the case die with her father. When she thought that the blush went away, she turned around and gave him a smile.

Raph smirked, "It was the least I could do"

Will shrugged, "Glad you did your homework"

"Better than you did, I'm assuming" Raph teased, "All you wanted to do was ask every street thug a question. Some would have ratted him out but others just might tell him and that would make Julius come out of hiding. But that's what we don't want"

Wilmarie gave him a confused look at what he just said. Isn't that the point of doing all of this? To make Julius come out of hiding? She didn't want to wait around until he thought it was safe out to wander the streets of the City. She wanted him to know that she was actively looking for him for revenge.

"I'm not going to wait forever for him to come out" Will argued.

Raph rolled his eyes, "He'll try to kill you if he finds out someone is spreading his name around. Believe me, as much as they like to strike fear in everyone they also don't like to be broadcasted everywhere"

"Wait a minute. How do you know all of this?" Will asked him.

"I've got more experience on this then you do" Raph shrugged.

Wilmarie took a slight step toward him, "But you don't sound as much older as I am"

"Just because I'm 18 doesn't mean I don't have any experience of this world. It's what I'm used to doing. Now if you don't mind, stop asking so many questions" Raph growled.

Wilmarie laughed as she turned and leaned on a chain at the dock they were at, "Why not? I feel like you know more about me than I know more about you"

Wilmarie watched the bodysuit move slightly as if he were about to say something but then stopped. It always seemed to be that way with him. Every time Will asked him something personal he just gives off a vague answer. One time she asked him where did he live and all he said was underground as if that was supposed to mean something.

"Trust me, you don't want to know more about me than you do" Raph finally said.

Will leaned forward, "That's a lie"

Raph walked over and sat down next to her, "It's for your own good. I ran into some people that are waiting for me and my brothers to pop up again. The less you know, the better. I think for both of us"

Raph listened as for once Wilmarie sat in silence with him beside her. He concentrated his gaze as he could see his green skin in the reflection of the mask. His gloves only showed three fingers as he wondered if Wilmarie ever noticed it and didn't say anything to him about it.

She finally spoke up, "What about your eyes?"

Raph turned to her, "What about them? You've seen them?"

Will shook her head, "No, but I'm kind of curious about them. What color are they?"

"Brown" he said after a moment.

"I can see that" Will answered.

Raph glanced to his watch, "We should start to head on back. I kind of have a long ways to go before I'm home and I'm sure you do too. Come on, I'll give you a lift"

"Oh, no you don't have to. I'm sure I can make it home before anyone wakes up" Wilmarie waved him off.

Raph felt a smirk form as out of the blue, he picked up Will and placed her over his shoulder as she let out a squeal. He noticed that she didn't protest for him to put her down as he walked over to the bike and dropped her down to the side.

Raph straddled his bike, "Get on"

Will grumbled, "You could've told me you were going to do that"

Raph shrugged, "Yeah, I could've but then that wouldn't have been much fun. If you know what I was going to do then you probably would've thrown my ass into the water. And don't even try to deny that you would've. You liked it anyways"

Raphael revved up the engine as he looked in the side mirror and saw that same blush that appeared on her face only moments before as she wrapped her arms around his waist and placed her head onto his shoulder as they drove back into the City.


	12. Vigilantes

"Come on" Wilmarie mumbled, "You've got to be around here somewhere. Why are you so scared? What have you got to hide? Why did my father and sister die because of what he was looking into?"

Will closed her eyes as she inhaled deeply, trying to silence her own emotions in order to feel others. All around her she felt people were tired or the ones out at night seemed happy, intoxicated. The feelings that mostly overwhelm her at this hour. She suddenly felt engulfed in a feeling of terror and pain just to the east of her. Tears filled her eyes as she suddenly turned and started to run in the direction that she felt the feeling the strongest. Normally whenever Will felt emotional pain, it was mostly because the person was in physical pain.

Wilmarie jumped up onto a trashcan and leaped over to a fence and hoisted herself over it before she landed on the other side. She quickly ran out of the alleyway and into the neighborhood, passing by a few cars who honked at her. It was almost close to October so most people would be thinking she's going to a Halloween party, at least that's what she thinks they would think. She turned left as she noticed that the lights here were dimmer and harder to see. She blinked only a few times before her vision adjusted to the night almost as perfectly as seeing through the day.

Will turned the corner to see a man slumped to the ground as another had the gun aimed at him before turning around and looking at her. She slammed her body into him, making the shooter fall a few feet away from the man. She turned around and looked to the man as she knelt down to assess him. Will only lightly touched his shirt before she felt the warm liquid soak her fingertips.

"Hey, bub!" a voice said from up above, "Isn't it kinda rude to try to hurt a woman like that"

Wilmarie looked up and saw the familiar bodysuit come down to the alleyway as she smiled, "About time"

She heard a cough beside her and noticed that the man was fading. Will waved her hand in a clockwise motion over his wound as she felt some kind of energy drain out of her, making his blood return back to his cut but also making it smaller. The wound was close to almost fully healed when she felt a hand slam down onto her shoulder.

"Not all the way" Raph's voice said through the helmet.

"But he's dying. I can't just leave him to die in an alley. What kind of message would I be sending out?" Will argued.

She looked back down to the man who had passed out from all the blood that he had lost but at least the color was returning to him. Wilmarie almost felt sick moving her hand away from his still soaked shirt.

A lump rose in her throat as she slowly got up and turned to look at her own reflection on Raphael's helmet.

"If you heal him all the way then he'll know you did it" Raph said in a low voice.

"But he could die" Will argued, "I don't know want to leave him here. Who knows how long the cops will come? He could bleed out in that time"

"I highly doubt it" Raph said as sirens could be heard in the distance.

Wilmarie looked down to the man as she sighed, "Fine"

She turned to leave down the alleyway she came from, she stopped when she noticed the red and blue light speeding their way. Her heart sank as she realized how bad this could be if the police found both her and Raph here. Suddenly, she felt a strong arm around her waist, making Wilmarie shriek as Raph jumped and started to make his way up to the roof. She gasped as Raph jumped onto the roof and continued to jump from roof to roof getting farther away from the sirens. Will forced herself not to look as she jammed her eyes shut as she couldn't take how scared she was as Raph seemed to jump with more ease than he really should. He did one more jump before she felt him place her back down onto the ground.

Will slowly opened her eyes as she recognized that they were in downtown. Her legs felt weak as she wobbled a little as her heart still felt like it was fluttering. She started to slowly take in her breath as she ran a hand through her hair. Raph came up beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder. She suddenly felt pissed off as she turned and pushed him, making Raph slide on the ground.

"Warn me next time!" She shouted to the man.

She rolled her eyes as she realized how immature she looked as she took a step toward but heard a slight crack, making Wilmarie quickly remove her foot. She noticed it was a CD case as she swooped down and picked it up. It had only one word on it, making Wilmarie gasp as she held onto it with both hands now.

"Give that back!" Raph tried to snatch the case away from her but she quickly dodged his hand.

"Why?"

"Because it's mine" Raph moved to get it but Will placed a hand on his chest which he could've easily dodged but he still was surprised at how she almost felt like a brick wall to him.

"Really?" Will raised an eyebrow, "Then why does it have my name on it?"


	13. Favorite Disease

Raph growled, "It's not ready yet"

Wilmarie just smirked at him as she looked back over to the CD. There was a slight crack on the case due to her stepping on it but otherwise, it was okay. She noticed how he wrote her name in red ink with brush strokes that reminded her of Japanese characters. Knowing that he made something for her suddenly made the September heat feel like it was already 100 degrees. Will wanted to race home and see what he put on it. She wondered if they had the same taste in music.

She looked over to him, wondering what expression he wore on his face. Is he blushing or glaring at her? Raph stood completely still in her hand as she slowly lowered it, the barricade gone. He had a chance to take the CD back from her hands but he didn't, he stood perfectly still. Not really knowing what to do as of this point.

"You wanna know something?" Wilmarie started, "No one ever gave me something like this. Something special, I mean. I feel like making a CD of music that you love fit to the person that you're trying to give is personal. Not even my ex gave me something like this"

Raph humphed, "I guess you weren't with the right one"

"You know what? I guess not" Will turned and looked at him.

"What?" Raph swallowed, "Why are you staring at me like that? Listen, the night is still young. We should try to get in a few extra punches, don't ya think?"

Raph felt like he was hyperventilating in his helmet, he knew that the heat wave was coming but not this soon. He started to even wonder if it truly was the heat wave that was making him feel this way. He turned around and headed for the other side of the rooftop to try and listen in on his radio when a hand grabbed onto his arm. Raph tensed up as he turned around and looked over to Wilmarie gazing up at him.

 _Why did I make her a CD anyways?_ he thought _Now she's going to want to know what a really look like. How is she going to react to seeing a gigantic monstrous turtle under this helmet?_

Will placed her hands on her hips, "Take off your helmet. I want to see you. I want to see the man who is doing a lot of things for me. Everyone knows who the Nightwatcher is, but I want to know who Raphael is. At least give me that. Don't you think I deserve that much?"

"I told you already" Raph said gently, "It's safer if you don't see who I really am. I know too many bad people. They'll hurt you if I show you who I really am"

"I'm not afraid of them" Will took a step toward him, "I can defend myself. You know that"

"Oh, sure! If it wasn't for me, you'd have been shot by that guy while you were trying to heal that man" Raph crossed his arms over his chest.

Wilmarie nodded, "Okay, but I could've healed myself"

Raph countered, "Alright. So you have healed yourself before when you were cut, I'm assuming. You would've been able to survive a bullet hitting you in the back. It's been done before right?"

Wilmarie hesitated, "Well, I haven't tried it out yet"

"Then you could've died with that man in the alley tonight" Raph yelled out, unable to control his anger.

"Why do you care so much about what I can do with my powers" Wilmarie shouted back.

Raph let out, "Because I'm trying to protect you and each time I leave your side you do something like this"

"So we're some sort of team now? Is that it? Because I thought you kept up the whole, I-work-alone thing the whole time" Will glared at him.

Raph scoffed, "I would've been working alone if it wasn't for trying to see if you're still breathing every four hours"

"Thanks but I can take care of myself" Wilmarie turned around and walked a little ways away from him.

Raph continued, "Don't you get it? You can't do this alone. You'll die a lot faster before you get to see Julius behind bars"

"Is that some sort of challenge?" Wilmarie turned and looked back at him, "Because you don't know me at all to make that assumption"

"You told me yourself that you've never fought before in your life" Raph pointed out, "You rely solely on your powers to claim justice for your father"

"If it's bothering you this much than why are you acting this way?" Wilmarie countered, "Because I thought you actually wanted to help me, I didn't twist your arm into doing this"

"Because it's the same reason why I made you that CD!" Raphael yelled out before he could stop himself.

Wilmarie felt her anger suddenly slip away, "The same reason why you made the CD. It's because you care about me, isn't it? You just don't really know how to say it. Something tells me you haven't expressed an emotion such as vulnerable as this one before"

"I thought I told you to stay out of my head" Raph snapped, "You can't go peeking in there whenever you want. It's unfair! And kind of disturbing. Also you're invading my privacy and I thought I told you to never do that to me again"

"I wasn't reading your emotions, Raph" Wilmarie told him, "It was just a guess"

Raph shifted his weight around from foot to foot, "Lucky guess then"

"Then you don't mind if I keep the CD, do you?" Wilmarie asked, "Since it looks about ready to me. And since I can't see your face _yet_. This will satisfy me for the time being. But you know that I will be asking you to remove your helmet again"

Raph let out a chuckle, "Since when do you ever stop? I guess I just bought myself time until the rest of the week"

Wilmarie turned back over to him and gave him a small smile. Even though she couldn't see it, Raph was smirking back at her.

He turned his head to the side as he heard the radio picking up something about no units available, his usual kind of party.

"Let's go" Wilmarie told him.

Raph responded, "Just don't push me down to the ground once we stop again"

Wilmarie couldn't help but laugh as she placed the CD safe inside her suit. Raphael walked up to her and slowly picked her up bridal style, a lot better than what he did just moments before. She mentally cursed herself as she felt a blush coming on as he turned to another set of rooftops. His arms wrapped around her tighter as he took off in a run. Her eyes stayed open this time as she wanted to see the weightless moments from jumping from roof to roof. He kept his eyes focused on the other landings but every once in awhile, he glanced over to Will who was smiling from ear to ear as they raced to the next crime.


	14. Heat Wave

The Nightwatcher sent out a chain with a metal ball attached to the end down the alley as it collided with the man. The woman and her son chose this time to run out of the alleyway, screaming as they went. The set of crooks glanced around in the total darkness but couldn't see who it was that just attacked them. The smallest one turned and tried to run down the same path the woman had just took off in when Wilmarie kicked the large trashcan to cut the man off. Raph got up and started to walk over to the group as if they were friends or something.

A man gasped, "It's the Nightwatcher"

"So you've heard of me" Raph said nonchalantly.

The man who seemed to be the leader puffed up his chest, "I'm not afraid of you. You're just like the rest of them. But you all end up bleeding the same"

"That's pretty threatening" Raph told him, "But I'm nothing like you"

The man smirked, "We'll see about that"

"Trust me when I tell you, you **don't** want to do this" Raph warned.

"I'm not scared of a man in a metal suit" He continued, "Why don't you show me what kind of man you really are"

Raph shrugged, "If you wish"

Will straightened up slightly as she watched Raphael fight off the group of bandits as she slowly made her way over to the group. Raph wanted to take this group out by himself which Wilmarie didn't mind too much. The heatwave was here and she wanted nothing more than to take off her own black suit and soak herself in a bucket full of ice. Sadly, as statistics held up, the hotter the weather, the more crimes happen.

"Very inspiring" Will commented once Raph was done.

"Glad I'm such an influence on you" Raph grunted as he tied the group up.

Wilmarie slightly glared as she watched him hoist them up a streetlight, "Why do you do that? Dangling them up there like that. You know they can't escape either way, right?"

Raph jumped down, "Oh, I know that. It just makes them look all the more stupid, don't ya think?"

"Well, now that you put it that way" Wilmarie smiled.

"So, where to next?" Raph wiped off his hands.

"Isn't that your call?" Will asked, "You are the one with the voices in your head"

"You wish" Raph laughed.

Wilmarie heard sirens behind her, causing her to turn and look back as she headed down the alleyway to disappear. She turned back around to call to the Nightwatcher when she suddenly stopped and watched as he slowly made his way over. She noticed that his head hung low and she could almost hear him panting.

She instructed, "You need to take off your helmet"

Raph shook his head as he continued to run, "No"

"Raph, you've been throwing too much of your energy out. It's not healthy for you. You haven't even drank any water tonight"

Raph blinked as he climbed up the fire escape ladder as he shook away the feeling of nauseousness, "Oh, great! You sound a hell of a like Donnie"

"Well, maybe you should listen to Donnie when he's talking about your health" Wilmarie told him.

Raph spoke up, "I'm fine, Will"

Wilmarie rolled her eyes, "No, you're not. You're not even using a lot of stealth anymore"

"So that's what this is all about" Raph said breathlessly.

Wilmarie rolls her eyes as she slowly followed him up the ladder. She was only a few paces behind him but by the time she got up and became in view with the rooftop, she knew something was wrong. Raphael was leaning heavily on a shed as his body started to slump to the ground. Raph could hear her yell out his name as he tried his best to regain his vision. Even if he could, he wouldn't be able to look through the fogged up glass that was displayed over his face. He must've blacked out a little bit because the next thing he knew, he was on the cement stomach-down, feeling Wilmarie turn him around and place both hands on his helmet.

Raph rasped out, "No"

The last thing Raphael saw was Wilmarie pulling off the helmet and her eyes widening.

She held onto the helmet as she gasped at what she was seeing. His face was not only green but he had a snout, reptile like skin, and some kind of red bandana over his eyes. Wilmarie didn't move as she noticed that Raph had passed out so he probably didn't see her take off the helmet.

"Oh, my God" Wilmarie finally let out, "What the hell?"

She blinked as she shook her head, "This has got to be a trick"

"It's a trick, it's just a trick" Wilmarie mumbled to herself.

"Alright" She mumbled, "Hey, Raph, are you okay?"

No answer, "Raph?"

Wilmarie slowly glanced down to the zipper as she quickly took a glance back at Raph's motionless head. She inhaled deeply as she reached out with shaky hands and grabbed onto his zipper as she licked her lips. She silently counted in her head to three before she quickly unzipped his metal-like jacket.

Will dropped back as she gawked at the shell displayed over his chest. It was exactly like the pet turtle in her freshman class. This wasn't a mask or another disguise. This was Raphael's body! Raphael is an… overgrown turtle!

"Oh my God" Wilmarie raked her hand through her hair, "What do I do?"

She wiped sweat from her brow when suddenly it dawned on her.

"Right, he's overheating" Will mumbled.

She slightly picked him up and pulled off his jacket, not surprised to see a hole in the back as the metal 'backpack' stayed on. Will didn't even try to look at the rest of his body as she found this all too hard to comprehend at the moment. Right now, she was just here trying to make sure Raphael didn't overheat himself.

Wilmarie took out a water bottle that she strapped onto her belt tonight. The ice had completely melted as she started to pour it onto her hand before letting the droplets hit him on his shell, arm, and face. He started to wince slightly as his breathing started to even out.

She couldn't help but find herself wondering about how all of this came to be.

He was a turtle almost taller than her!

Not only that, he has been talking to her, fighting with her, and even rode a motorcycle across town with her! How could she have not noticed this before? Why didn't she piece all of this together before?

Then she remember something, this doesn't normally happen. This is a rare upon rare sighting of a turtle.

She then thought about how he said that there were enemies out there looking for him.

Almost instinctively she took in her surroundings and noticed how quiet and still the night was.

What about his brothers? Are they like him as well?

A cough came out of Raph, making Wilmarie gasp and jump back.

Raphael opened his eyes as he gazed up at the sky, noticing how there were raindrops on his skin and shell. When did it rain? He saw something move to the left of him and noticed Wilmarie's eyes wide as she sat a few feet away from him. He brought up his hand to his helmet and noticed that he actually was touching his skin. He slowly sat up, making Will stand and take a step back.

"Will" Raph let out.

"You're a turtle" Wilmarie whispered.

Raph sighed as he nodded, "You see why I didn't want to take off my helmet? I didn't want to scare you like this. I didn't want to tell you"

"You should've told me" Wilmarie told him, "It's better than finding out the way I did"

Raphael closed his eyes, "I'm sorry"

"I have to go" Wilmarie turned and started to walk away.

"Wait!" He yelled after her, "You can't tell anyone that I exist! Please promise me that you won't tell anyone about this"

Wilmarie stood with both of her hands on the bars of the fire escape as she turned back around to the turtle with the red bandana, "I won't tell a soul"

He watched as the blonde turned around and went down the fire escape, away from him. Away from the freak. Raph looked around as he noticed that her water bottle was beside him and so was his helmet. The light from the shed illuminated his features as he could see what Wilmarie was seeing. He grabbed onto the helmet and threw it away from him as it slammed into the only light of the shed as he screamed out, "DAMN!"

From the bottom of the alley, Wilmarie stopped a little bit as she glanced up to the rooftop noticing that it was dark now. Tears welled in her eyes as she whimpered, shoved her hands into her pockets, and headed on back home.


	15. Broken Figure

Raphael stared at his reflection for the longest time, taking in his green skin, his shell, and his mutated figure. Ever since the night before, he's been feeling more discouraged about going out. Waking up to seeing Wilmarie's face like that made it almost feel like Shredder had come back and was slicing his heart out. Without warning, he balled up his hands into a firm fist and sent it crashing into the mirror, shattering the whole thing to pieces. He glanced down to his hand as it looked normal at first, but then little slices of red appeared on his skin as his blood ran down his hand. A knock came at the door as Raph took a towel from the bar.

He shouted, "Go away!"

"I kind of can't" Donnie's voice came from behind the door.

Raph rolled his eyes, "And why not? Just turn around and walk away like as if you didn't hear the sound of the mirror breaking"

"Well, that's the thing, Raph, because not only do I have to use the bathroom but also Master Splinter heard the crash and is asking you to see him in the training room pronto" Don went on.

Raph let out an exaggerated sigh as he opened the door and walked by Donnie, "Don't cut yourself"

Donnie glanced down to Raph's already bloody rag as he looked back into the bathroom where the mirror used to be. Usually, Raphael would flip down to the second floor but considering how he was going to be lectured by Sensei, he chose to take his time. He walked by Mikey who had his game on pause as he watched his older brother march into the room where their father was. Raph sighed as he paused by the door, straightened up a bit before he pushed the door open. There standing in the center of the room was Master Splinter with his tail curled around him as Raphael went into the room and kneeled at the floor.

"Can't this wait until after I clean up my fist?" Raph was the first to speak.

"You will listen now!" Master Splinter yelled out, "What made you shatter the mirror like that?"

Raphael shook his head, "It's nothing. I wanted to let out some steam and the mirror was right there. I'll place a new one up"

The rat didn't answer right away, in fact, he didn't answer back at all. He knew that his son was lying to him and refused to answer him. He could see it in Raphael's eyes as they wandered the straw mat, the guilt eating him up alive. It was only a matter of time before Raph closed his eyes and sighed as he decided to tell the truth.

"I hate the way I look" Raphael confessed.

Master Splinter looked at him, "Why?"

"I just want to be normal like everyone else up there" Raphael motioned above to the ceiling, "I want the freedom to walk down the street and not look like an overgrown freak! Why do we have to look this way anyways?"

"But we will never be normal" Master Splinter commented.

Raphael sighed as his head shrunk down a little bit more. He knew his father would never lie to his sons just for their own benefit. Raphael felt long claws under his chin as Splinter rose his head up to meet his eyes.

Master Splinter responded, "If we were normal, I would've died years ago, my son. My kind of species only lasts for two years so I see our mutation as somewhat of a blessing. I got to be more than I could if I had not found you and your brothers in that ooze. Do not be so harsh with your appearance, my son. It will only cause the negativity to consume you until your enemy is none other but yourself. Do you understand, Raphael?"

Raphael felt his throat was tight as he struggled to swallow as he nodded to his father. Master Splinter gave him a small smile in return.

"Yes, father" Raphael finally answered.

"Good" Master Splinter placed his hands behind his back, "I will give you four days until we have a new mirror, otherwise, it will be extra training for a full week from you"

Raph nodded, "I'll make sure it's up before then"

"And have Donatello look at your wound" Master Splinter ordered Raph looked up to object but his father already yelled out, "Donatello!"

The door immediately opened as both Donnie and Mikey were behind the door.

Splinter waved his hand to their older brother, "Make sure he is taken care of"

"Yes, Sensei!" Donnie bowed, "Right this way, Raph"

Raphael rolled his eyes as he got up and followed him, "As long as you don't give me that tennis shot again"

"It's a tetanus shot and everyone needs them" Donnie reminded him.

"Yeah, whatever" Raph mumbled to himself.


	16. Loaded Gun

"Are you okay?" George asked.

Wilmarie rolled her eyes, "I'm fine, George. Nothing to report"

But George insisted, "You seem different, almost like that one time when Janice moved away"

Wilmarie's mind went back to the time when their other friend had to move away to Nevada. She became angry and sad almost at the same time. Eventually, differences took their toll between Janice and Wilmarie and she never got to fly out there like they always promised year after year. Wilmarie glanced over to a person holding up a turtle they made in some kind of art class which made a lump rise in her throat. That could not have been Raphael. Even though she tried to think it was all just a prank she still remembered how he looked as if he was begging her not to be alarmed.

"It's nothing" Wilmarie huffed, "Someone isn't as they used to be. Or, I mean, he described himself as one thing and then he's a completely different person in the end"

George stopped her, " _He?_ And who have you been talking to without me knowing?"

"He's kind of a pen pal"

"Oh really? And how long have you talked to him. Is he the guy that you're always drawing in your notebook?" George teased.

Wilmarie looked over to him, "What?!"

"Oh, come on, you always draw some type of guy on the sides of your notes and coincidentally they're all riding a motorcycle" George told her, "I don't even know the guy personally but if he looks like that, then can you do me a favor and ask if he has a brother?

Wilmarie rolled her eyes, "You'll have to ask him yourself. I haven't talked to him in a while. Not after I found out about the real him. I wish I could tell you but I seriously can't. I'm still reeling over and over in my head about what happened"

"Wow, I never thought of you to be the type"

"What type? I hate it whenever you try to stick me to some stupid stereotype"

"The type who judges a book by it's cover" George told her.

"I am not!"

"Then call your loveboo up right now"

"I can't" Wilmarie let out.

George finished for her, "Because he decided to tell you about his true form?"

Wilmarie stopped, "Wait a minute! Do you know Raphael?"

"Damn, and he has a hot name like that?!" George stopped too.

Wilmarie shook her head as she looked around at the people during lunch period. She caught a glimpse of some guy going on and on about how he's convinced that he knows the Nightwatcher and he lives down his street. What would that kid do if he figured out that the Nightwatcher was actually a turtle? She took a bite into her lunch as she tried not to think about the turtle but her mind kept on coming back to the creature no matter how hard she tried. She wanted to tell George what Raphael really is but even though she was surprised at what she found out, she couldn't bring herself to tell him like that.

Wilmarie sighed, "He's great and everything. Has a few anger issues to deal with and possibly even family therapy but he's cool. He's protective, nice, and can be a gentleman sometimes"

George put in, "Sounds like you miss him. Did you guys get into a huge argument or something?"

"No…"

"Did he hit you? Does he take drugs? Is he part of you-know-who's gang?" George whispered the last part.

Wilmarie hesitated a bit, "No"

George sighed, "Then what seems to be the problem? He can't be that ugly, can he?"

"No, he's not. He told me before that there are bad people out there and he understands what I'm going through. He even picked up a few things that the cops didn't notice. Or maybe they did but they're just too scared to do anything about it. Some brotherhood they have" Wilmarie felt the same lump in her throat form once more.

"Sounds like he's jumped through fire to help you"

"Yeah, he has. Never really thought about that"

George leaned into her, "So does he look like Quasimodo?"

"What?"

"From the _Hunchback of Notre Dame_ "

"No… but kind of in that sense" Wilmarie didn't know how else to tell her friend that Raph was actually an overgrown turtle.

George shrugged, "So what?"

Wilmarie looked back to him, "So what? I thought you would say something differently"

George commented, "If we all judged a book by its cover than we would never have bothered to open it and discover what's inside"

Wilmarie opened her mouth to say something but then stopped. She never really thought about it like that. She suddenly felt embarrassed about her actions as she realized how badly they must've hurt Raph. Will knew that if the tables were turned she would've probably be breaking all the mirrors in her house right about now.

"You need to stop thinking about what everyone else thinks is normal, Will. Look at me! I'm gay and if I haven't have stepped out of the closet, I would never have met Sam"

Wilmarie perked up, "How is he, by the way? I haven't seen him since last Thursday"

"He's great, but I'm trying to lecture you here"

"That's what I was afraid of. I already feel bad about how I acted. I don't even know if he'll see me anymore" Wilmarie sighed.

George scoffed, "Any guy who spends his time trying to solve a case for a significant other isn't just going to forget them overnight"

"Well, then what do I do? I already screwed everything up" Wilmarie pleaded.

George shrugged, "I don't know, maybe find him? You got to set things right before it gets any worse. Stop thinking about what society wants and do what you want. So what if the hot quarterback is with the sexy cheerleader? But I can tell you right now that if someone comes here trying to mug them, he'll be the first to run"

"You know they can hear you?"

"So what? The last time he tried to hit me I put him in his place"

"Karate does wonders" Wilmarie giggled.

"So are you going to talk to this _Raphael..._ "

"Yes, I will, Love Doctor"

"Good, cause I wanna know what it's finally like to double date with you!" George nudged her as a small blush rose to her cheeks.


	17. Anger

Raphael flinched slightly as Donatello dabbed his cuts with some alcohol swab.

"So what happened?"

Raph blinked, "Huh?"

Donnie cleared his throat, "What made you do it? Break the window like that?"

"Nothing" Raph mumbled.

"That's not entirely the case. The last time you broke a glass like that was when you lost a sai. Or the other time when Master Splinter forbid us to go up to the surface once we were done training. Usually it's a very extreme emotion that makes you break something" Donnie explained.

"What are you a cop now?" Raph glared to his brother.

Donnie gave him a peeved look, "Just wondering if I have to hide my inventions again. Took me six months to be where I'm at today-"

Raph huffed, "I'm not going to touch your precious toys, alright?"

"Good" Donnie sighed, "So do you wanna talk about it?"

Raphael looked over to his younger brother as he flipped his goggles down and took a closer look at the cuts. He rolled his eyes as he glanced up to the clock, noticing that sundown will be happening soon.

"I don't need to talk to a shrink" Raph replied back, "If I did, I would've called Dr. Phil"

Donnie humphed, "You know it's okay to miss him. Even if you don't want to admit it. I'm sure Leo is actually wishing he had someone to argue with in Central America"

"If he missed us so much then why hasn't he wrote to his in almost a month?" Raph challenged, "He's wanted out of this family for a long time now. He's probably basking in the sunlight out in the jungle getting a nice tan. He realized his training was coming to an end and he took that opportunity to leave without a trace. No more Leo, no more family"

Donnie looked up to him, "Stop saying that"

Raphael was about to go on when he heard a slight foot shuffle come from the training room. He glanced over to see Mikey standing just beyond the shadows staring at his two brothers. They could tell by the look on his face that he heard everything.

For a second, Raph actually felt guilty for speaking his mind about Leo and not checking to see where Mikey was. Even though they were all roughly around the same age, he still thought of Mikey as the little pipsqueak who cried whenever Sensei took too long to find food for them. Mikey formed his jaw as he gave off a sheepish smile as he went to the nearest comic book, grabbed it and walked away. Donnie and Raph couldn't do anything but watch as Mikey for once took the stairs to climb to his room.

Donnie took off his goggles as he gave Raph a dark look that even surprised him. As much as Raph felt sorry for Mikey, he was still too angry with his appearance and Leo to calm down and try to make up for it. He glanced around the room as he tried to find something else to focus on when he felt a stinging pain on his cuts. He hissed and whipped his head back around as he noticed that Donnie actually poured the alcohol on his cut and pressed the rag down hard on his scrapes. He did one final squeeze before he got up to clean up the mess he made.

"You deserved that" Raph could hear Donnie say under his breath.


	18. Fear and Loathing

Wilmarie shut her book and shoved the study guide back into her backpack, now completing the homework that was supposed to last her the entire weekend. She glanced over to her clock and noticed that it was 8:40, still too early to start changing into her black suit and mask. She knew that Raph only starts patrolling by 10:20 at the earliest. Tonight, she had the house to herself; her mother normally works night shifts and her sister was sleeping over at a friend's house. Normally, she didn't mind the quiet but right now she even wished her younger sister was home in hopes of keeping her mind off of actually going out and finding the vigilante who she now knows it a mutated turtle. Her stomach suddenly did flips as she felt nervous once more.

She reached out and grabbed a hold of a book on her desk and pulled it to her as she heard something slide down the wall and fall to the ground. Wilmarie blinked as she got up and moved her entire desk with on hand before walked over to the space to see what fell. A CD with her name on it was gazing back at her as she suddenly remembered that she put it there in hopes of hearing it later. She never got around to doing that. Wilmarie knelt down and picked up the CD and stared at it as she wondered what could be on it.

Wilmarie quickly pushed her desk back up against the wall and placed the CD back down onto her bed as she quickly opened up her closet. She pushed back clothes, mementos, and past hobbies aside as she tried to find a certain invention. She angrily threw something aside as she heard it crash into the wall on the other side.

She muttered to herself, "Where is it? I know it's somewhere in here. I know that I didn't throw it away"

Something dropped down to her foot, making her hiss and let out a curse word as she hopped on one foot. She glanced down and noticed that it was a CD player that she used to use before she got an iPod for her birthday. Ignoring the pain, she picked it up and closed the closet door as she stared down to her item. Will glanced over to her light switch as she suddenly decided to turn it off, somehow she felt like listening to the CD for the first time would be fitting in the dark. It only took a couple of seconds before her eyes quickly adjusted to the light as she walked around all the dropped items to go to her bed.

She turned around and jumped up as she landed on the bed and picked up the case that was next to her. With a shaky hand she placed the CD into her player and closed it as she switched it on. Wilmarie watched as the CD player whirred to laugh as she tapped it impatiently, dying to know what was on it.

Wilmarie blinked as she noticed the number of songs on the CD, "Twenty. He found 20 songs for me?"

Wilmarie placed her thumb over the play mark and hit the button as she placed the little machine on her stomach.

Wilmarie gasped, "I know this song. Wow. I didn't even know…"

She stopped as she listened to the song, carefully this time. Wilmarie listened to the words as if it was for the first time. The song was too feminine for Raphael but the words in the song was something… a message to her. She felt a wave come over her as she started to pant and feel tears brim her eyes. It was almost like guilt was ice and it was freezing her up alive. Raphael's eyes came up in her mind as she closed her eyes but not to shun him out of her mind but to better remember the moment.

It was only two nights prior when she found out that he was a turtle but it almost felt like it happened 10 minutes ago. She still remembered how hot it was and how freezing her hand was as the ice-cold water dripped from her hand. His pleading look as his eyes begged her to stay. Instead, she left and only a few seconds later, she heard him cry out at the top of his lungs.

Wilmarie found herself pressing the backspace button as the song came back into her ears once more as she silently sung to herself even though it was droned out by the artist herself.

I've lived a lot of different lives

Been different people many times

I live my life in bitterness

And fill my heart with emptiness

And now I see, I see it for the first time,

There is no crime in being kind

Not everyone is out to screw you over.

Maybe, oh just maybe they just wanna get to know ya.

Wilmarie remembered the first time that she found Raphael, he was helping a family who was being held hostage. He noticed almost immediately that there was something more to Wilmarie than to just being average. She remembered how he kept on insisting on wanting to know how she could do so many things. He didn't even flinch when he heard that she had four incredible powers.

Now the time is here,

Baby you don't have to live your life in fear

And the sky is clear, is clear of fear

Don't wanna live in fear and loathing

I wanna feel like I am floating

Instead of constantly exploding

In fear and loathing

Got different people inside my head

I wonder which one that they like best

I'm done with tryin' to have it all

And endin' up with not much at all.

The memory of how he listened to her in the park as she went on and on about seeking justice for her family. Not once did he ever try to intervene and tell her that it was a crazy idea. Instead, he wanted to come along and make sure she was protected. And he did just that, he saved her multiple times to the point that Will felt embarrassed for even reliving her memories of him. But the more she thought about it, the most she realized how much he cared for her. The way Raph picked her up made her stomach flip even right now as she whispered out the lyrics.

And now the time is here,

Baby you don't have to live your life in fear

And the sky is clear, is clear of fear

Of fear

When Raphael woke up the night she found out he was a turtle, she was so surprised to see him like that that her powers slipped. She felt the sense of fidelity around him, while she was scared of what he was, he still remained faithful to their cause. To her cause.

Don't wanna live in fear and loathing

I wanna feel like I am floating

Instead of constantly exploding

In fear and loathing.

And when the time comes along

And the lights run out,

I know where I will belong

When they blow me out.

Wilmarie felt her heart warm as she realized what this could mean; Raphael had feelings for her. Someone from another species liked her.

Don't wanna live in fear and loathing

I wanna feel like I am floating

Instead of constantly exploding

In fear and loathing.

And she liked him.

I wanna be completely weightless

I wanna touch the edge of greatness

Don't wanna be completely faithless

Completely faithless.

George was right. She shouldn't care what people think, especially what her best friend might think considering how he stirred her onto this path. She liked Raph even before she knew he was a turtle and now those feelings were coming back to her. Tonight, she will tell him that she was sorry for running away, that she was surprised, but that didn't wash away her feelings for him. It just took her a couple of days to register in her mind what this all meant.

When the time comes around

When the lights will go out

When the time comes around

When the lights they go out.

When the song ended, she turned it off and opened her eyes. A bunch of shadows were surrounding her bed and before she had time to scream or start pushing them away, a rag collapsed onto her mouth and nose making her lose consciousness.


	19. Justice

Wilmarie shifted a little bit, feeling groggy and unclear. Everything sounded loud but distant at the same time, making it hard to focus. She didn't know why she felt this way, did she fall down the stairs? Did she get hit in the head by some kind of criminal while she was out? She scrunched up her eyebrows as she tried to move her hands to cover her head but realized that she couldn't. Her hands were bound.

A voice called out, "She's waking up"

She stiffened up slightly as she heard and felt people approaching her. Will tried to move as far away from the people as possible but found herself crammed to the wall. She heard a knife quickly come out of it's cover, making the teenager tense up. What did she get into now? What's going on?

"Hope you took a nice nap, Wilmarie. You're going to still think that you're in a nightmare" a voice told her.

The blindfold was taken off of her eyes as her eyes had a hard time adjusting for some time. She was definitely being crowded around by a bunch of criminals, that was the bad thing. The person who took the blindfold off, handed it for the person on his left. She glanced up to him but recognized him almost immediately as she straightened up and banged herself up against the wall.

Julius let out a laugh as everyone around him did the same. Wilmarie looked around and recognized the two boys that she had caught vandalizing a couple of weeks ago. Everything that was in her internal organs felt like they all dropped down to the ground and turned into acid.

It was actually him. Julius was alive and now he had her as his hostage.

"I heard you wanted to talk with me"

"I have nothing to say to you"

Wilmarie mentally cursed herself as she wished that sometimes she could just keep her mouth shut.

Wilmarie tried to snap her wrists out of their hold but only found that was was hurting herself in the process. She glanced behind her and noticed that the thickest chains she has ever seen were tied around her small arms. The two punks probably told Julius about how easily she threw one of them down the street. She let out an irritated sigh as she turned back to them. Now what? It would take her a couple of minutes to get herself out of them and that's only hoping that no one in this room hears the chains breaking.

Didn't Raphael tell her that doing what she did in the street would cost her someday? Raphael…. Where is he? Will suddenly felt a lump rise in her throat as she noticed something was wrong. She was hoping that the day she finally caught Julius, he would be by her side. Now she's not even sure if she's in the city.

Julius leaned in closer, "Are you going to cry now?"

She blinked a little bit as she realized that a tear was trailing down her cheek. She shivered as she stared into the man's hazel eyes. The man had the looks that could have a woman believe in every word he said. Which was why he was so dangerous and got away with all the crimes that he did.

Wilmarie whispered out, "You killed my father"

Julius sighed and nodded, "And your sister too. It was sad because she was so pretty and was at the wrong place at the wrong time"

Wilmarie hissed, "Don't talk about them!"

Julius brightened up, "You're exactly right! We should talk about someone else! Your metal- head of a friend"

Wilmarie felt her breath lodged in her throat as Julius smirked as somehow everyone was now really interested in her. They were after Raphael? Why?

Wilmarie slowly shook her head, "What friend?"

Julius let out a chuckle, "Isn't that cute?"

Julius roughly punched her in the stomach making Wilmarie yelp as she cowered down to the ground. The pain made the wind knocked out of her as she tried her best not to groan or cry out in pain.

"You know who I'm speaking of" Julius said slowly, "Your friend that's been famously named, the Nightwatcher"

"I don't know" Wilmarie said between breaths, "Who you're talking about"

Julius grabbed the back of her blonde hair and yanked her up into a sitting position as she saw that he was forming a fist, "I figured as much"


	20. Fidelity

She let out a cry as her body collapsed back down onto the floor. Wilmarie sobbed as she pleaded for the beatings to stop. She had hoped that her power of healing went both ways but it seems to her that it was only meant to heal other people besides herself. Julius sighed as he stood over her and wiped his hands clean from her blood. He looked down to her as Wilmarie cried, coughed, and whimpered in pain. But still, she kept to her same story of not knowing who the Nightwatcher really was when he wasn't in his little vigilante suit.

"I don't know anything!"

"We both know that's a lie"

"He's just someone I met up with after dark! We don't know each anything about each other other than that"

"A couple of my colleagues say that he's been calling you by your first name"

"The newspaper didn't give me a nickname" Wilmarie panted.

Julius clucked his tongue, "I can tell you're lying. You're just making it hard on yourself with not giving me the correct answer. Think about your father and what he would want you to say"

Wilmarie swallowed as she tried her best to ignore the pain that she was feeling. True, her father would hate to see her like this and would do anything in his power to make Julius stop. But if he were her right now, he would endure the pain. His main objective is to find out who the Nightwatcher is and she has the answer. Wilmarie clenched her jaw; human or not, she wasn't going to give up Raphael to some low life who killed her father and sister with a cold heart.

She raised up her chin as high as it could go before she winced and lost her focus for a bit. Wilmarie felt a dull pain in the side by her ribs as she screamed out from the man kicking her. He turned around and started to whisper something to his followers as they all nodded and left the room. She glanced up in hopes of figuring out where she was but couldn't see past the men with broad shoulders as they left her alone with the man she feared the most.

"Where are they going?" Wilmarie asked.

"To find your friend and bring him here, of course"

"He will never come"

"That's too bad for you, Wilmarie" Julius crouched down to her.

He moved his arm back as his fist connected with her jawbone, sending her face roughly to the side. She felt a sharp pain in the back of her neck as she knew he probably kinked her neck. Wilmarie let out a sob as warm blood was still drooling out of her mouth.

"Your time is running out and if he doesn't come here by dawn, you'll won't live much longer than that" Julius threatened sending a shudder throughout Wilmarie's entire body.


	21. Missing

The Nightwatcher peered down the side of the building as the cops walked around the group of criminals trying to vandalize a parking lot. The police tried to pretend that this was just any normal night but they even looked confused as they tried to wander around and find any kind of trace on who might've done this. Raphael smirked and shook his head as he knew that they wouldn't find anything. He's been a ninja for too long and knew how to fade away into the night. Raph picked himself up off of the ledge and started to walk away. He turned and glanced down to his side, opening his mouth but then stopped as he tried not to think about who he was thinking about talking to.

"I don't even care about her" Raph huffed out as he waved his arm away.

But it already was happening, the sinking feeling as he was reminded of the confusion and shock on Wilmarie's face as she finally got a good look at him. He wanted her to be like Casey who thought he looked like a freak back then but didn't overreact as much as she did the other night. Raph formed his jaw as he jumped to the other building and decided to run faster to his bike as the thoughts of her plagued his mind. He remembered how Will's hair looked when she ran after someone; a gold stream following behind her, the green eyes that almost looked as green as his skin. The way she blushed whenever he teased or treated her like a human even though she was anything but.

"You know what?! This is bullshit!" Raph suddenly revved up his engine and turned left to the neighborhood that Wilmarie lived in.

He accepted her when she wasn't 'normal' in her world's terms, so why can't she accept him and how he looks. He's sorry that he isn't a normal human being but that's what she's getting today. Raphael swerved in and out of the lanes until he sharply turned right into a quiet street where the lights were on. When he noticed a couple of people out of their homes down the road, he turned his back into the shadows and used the rooftops until he stopped to see what everyone was staring at.

"No!" he hissed out under his breath.

The police tape was around Wilmarie's home, the lights were all off and the door wide open as police officers filed in and out, some with dogs. Wilmarie's mother sobbed as she talked to someone as Raph spotted Wilmarie's younger sister getting filed into a car as a girl her age seemed to be comforting her. Raphael suddenly felt so sick and dizzy that he walked backwards and leaned onto the chimney of the other house.

"Will" he barely let out, "What happened?"

It didn't take him too long until he put two and two together about who could've done this. He knew something like this would happen but like everything else, he pushes it out of his mind until it actually happens.

"Julius" he glared.

Raphael jumped down from the building, ran to his motorcycle as he turned into the radio, trying to listen to some crimes that sparked his interest a couple of nights ago.

When he found what he was looking for, he turned on his motorcycle and went back into the city, "You're a dead man, Julius. Believe me, I will beat the shell out of you"


	22. Never Again

"Come on, guys, I just wanna talk" Raph pleaded.

The man shook violently, "But I don't want to talk"

"That's too bad, shorty" Raph picked up the guy by the collar, "Word on the street is that a couple of thugs took a dead cop's daughter… where is she?!"

He waved up his hand in response, "I don't know anything!"

Raph formed a fist, "I'm sure after a couple of hits the information will come to mind. You wanna see if my theory works?"

"No! Please!"

"Then tell me where she is. I'll promise to spare you the shame of hanging you upside down like every other crook I stumble upon. Just tell me something useful"

The man cringed as Raph was about to punch him when a couple of voices came from down the alley. He turned and noticed three guys approaching him with some bats in hand. Raph glared a little bit harder when he recognized the thugs each had the same symbol on their arms. He straightened up and dropped the other man down as he quickly scrambled out of there. Raphael threw out his arms as the metal balls crashed into the two men, sending them crashing into the walls. Before the man could react in the center, the chains latched around his ankles as Raph pulled him closer to him until he was within arms length.

"Maybe you can help me out, junior!" Raph let out in a growl.

"I know who you're looking for" The teenager tried to sound tough but his voice shaked more than the skeleton trees around them.

Raph pulled out a sia, "Then tell me where she is. Where did Julius take her!"

The man jumped back suddenly, "To the forest, a cabin!"

"You're going to have to be a lot more specific than that. Where?!" Raph growled.

"Ritchson National Park, the west entrance. Pretty easy to find"

"Because that's been closed for almost 10 years. Makes a lot of sense now, he has only been around for 9 years. Thanks, loser"

He took out his chains and quickly wrapped both the crook and his friends upside down and high for display. Raphael mounted onto his motorcycle and sped off in the direction of the National Park. He wasn't a complete idiot, he knew there has to be something waiting for him there besides Julius himself but he didn't care. A terrible knot formed in his stomach as he wondered if Wilmarie is alright or if she is even alive at all. For once, he wished that he had Will's powers and would want to try to locate her with the emotions that she was feeling right now.

He immediately took it back as he remembered how close to tears she was about talking about her father and sister.

"She may be tough, but she ain't that tough" Raph mumbled.

He sped down the highway as he exited the city and headed out to the closest National Park they had, about 20 minutes out. Raphael could practically hear the screams as Julius threatened and possibly beaten her.

"Hold on, Will" Raphael prayed.

It was in this moment where he wished that he had his brother's all around him; Donnie telling him the best strategy on saving Wilmarie without getting her hurt, Mikey being the comic-relief with his effortless jokes and smiles. Raphael even missed Leo telling him what to do, even though he knew that 90% of the time Raph would object to whatever Leo had to say.

"No. I can do this by myself"

Raphael swallowed a lump in his throat as he denied the biggest truth from himself. It was better this way if it was just by himself, he didn't want to risk anyone else he loves in danger. Wilmarie was more special to him than anything, mostly because she was the only friend that he and his brothers didn't have to share.

Once Raphael got there, he parked his motorcycle in the woods and pulled off his jumpsuit, helmet, and backpack. For some reason he felt it was more appropriate to save Will as what he was now, not what he made up for other civilians. Raphael picked up his sais and placed them onto his waistband and jumped up the tree until he could see a dimly-lit cabin not too far off. He heard a female cry out making Raphael glare as he took out ninja stars, getting ready to attack from the shadows of the earth.


	23. The Rescue

Wilmarie panted on the floor, her right eye was almost closed shut from how much of a beating she took. She didn't know how much longer she could take of this before her body decided to completely shut down.

She moved her hands slightly from the chains but didn't do anything else, she was afraid of what else they might do to her if they heard her snapping the chains away.

She slowly closed her eyes as she sensed everyone's emotions in the room as dark and evil as they seemed until she picked up on something that made her breath get caught up in her throat.

She felt angst, frustration, and fidelity from beyond the cabin as her heart skipped a beat. She grew to recognize these feelings with someone in particular. Wilmarie couldn't help but let a smile crack through her split lips and bloody mouth. Raphael had found out where Julius was keeping her. He was here to save her. Wilmarie suddenly realized that if he was here, then that would mean that Julius was going to get what he wanted; the Nightwatcher.

"Well, look who's smiling" Julius' voice spoke up, "Ready to go another round?"

Before she even had time to whimper, a loud crash came from the other side of the cabin as something heavy knocked into one of the other thugs.

Wilmarie jumped as Julius took out his gun and aimed it over to the open window, glaring at the darkness outside.

Wilmarie could hear someone letting out a yell as popping came from outside of the cabin, making Wilmarie tense up. They were shooting bullets out at Raphael! She needed to help him, she thought as she started to twist the chains against each other. One of the chains groaned and snapped under the pressure, making Julius look over to her. He quickly walked over and kicked her hard in the stomach and aimed his gun at her head.

"Do that again" A male brooklyn accent said in the shadows, "And you're dead"

"What… what the hell are you?" Julius took a step back.

Wilmarie picked up her head slightly as she saw a full-grown turtle with a red bandana and two sais in his hand glaring back at the notorious crimelord.

Raphael flipped the sais around and crouched down into some sort of battle position with his eyes of steel set on the man who kidnapped her. He stared at him for a long time before his eyes flickered over to Wilmarie in the corner chained up and bloodied. Julius took this time to compose himself and fire out shots over to Raphael making Wilmarie scream. She ducked her head down and squeezed her eyes shut as she was terrified of seeing Raph getting hurt. She heard someone get the wind knocked out of them as she willed herself to open her eyes to see what was happening. When she did, Julius was on the ground as Raphael made his way over to Wilmarie as she struggled to sit up

"Raph" She let out as tears came to her eyes, "You found me"

Raphael moved behind her as he started to take off the chains, "Thought I wouldn't?"

"To be honest, I didn't know what to think about what would happen tonight" Wilmarie confessed.

Raphael pulled the chains away from her wrists as he noticed the purple and blue bruises on them before she turned around and leapt at him. Raph was so surprised that he didn't realize at first that Wilmarie was actually hugging and sobbing into his neck. He gently wrapped his arms around her and quietly shushed her as he pet her blonde hair. He glanced around the room as he made sure to note that if all the criminals were either dead or unconscious. Raphael really wanted to slide a blade into Julius' side for what he did to Wilmarie but at the last minute, he thought against it. It would be better if the police of New York City dealt with a crook that killed one of their own brothers, he knows he would've wanted it the same if the roles were reversed.

Raphael could hear the police sirens in the distance as no doubt the gunshots drew some attention to this area, "I have to go. The cops are closeby"

"Will I see you again?" Wilmarie choked out.

"Yes, but only if you promise to give up your vigilante spree now that we have Julius" Raph gently placed his hands on her shoulders.

Wilmarie huffed out, "I don't think I'll be doing this again. If it wasn't for you, then I don't even know what would've happened tonight. Thank you, Raphael, I owe you my life"

Raph cracked a smile, "Just don't do anymore reckless stuff unless I'm watching you, alright? I don't think that I have enough energy to watch your back anymore"

Wilmarie was about to respond when the door banged open and two policemen came barging in with guns, when they saw her one officer yelled out saying they needed a medic as her partner came over and asked gently, "Ma'am, are you alright?"

Will glanced around and noticed that Raph had left the room before she turned back to the cop and pleaded, "Please, just get me out of here"


	24. Warmth

The next night, Wilmarie was looking down at a newspaper article that she never thought she would live to see, "Criminal Lord finally behind bars, thanks to Vigilante"

A knock came at the door before it slowly opened as her mother stood in the doorway, "It's time to take your pain meds again. You want me to spread some ointment on the bruises again?"

"No, thank you" Wilmarie spoke through puffy lips, "I can still feel it on my skin. I guess after I take these I'm going to be really drowsy. I guess I should start getting ready for bed"

Her mother gave her a toothless smile, "Are you sure you don't want to sleep with me tonight? It's alright if you do so. You can stay in my room for as long as you like. No one will judge you about it. How about it?"

"I'll be okay" Wilmarie responded.

"Are you sure?" Her mother gave her a concerned look as her daughter took the pill out of her mother's hand.

Wilmarie nodded, "If I can't handle it then I'll go into your room"

"Okay" her mother sighed as Wilmarie swallowed the pill, "My door will be open. I'm going to tell your sister the same thing too if she wants to join. She really was worried about you when you were gone. We're just glad you're okay"

Wilmarie smiled her best to her mother before she blew a kiss and closed the door. She waited a couple of minutes until she saw that the hall light turned off before she moved. Will slowly walked over to the door and locked it before she heard a sound behind her. She gasped as she turned around and noticed the Nightwatcher was standing in her room. Will relaxed a little bit as she suddenly felt self-conscious of all the bruises that were on her skin. Even though she couldn't see his face, she still felt his eyes zeroing in on the marks on her body.

"I thought you weren't going to come" Wilmarie spoke up, "In the back of my mind I was thinking that you were just going to stand me up. I'm glad you didn't. But what about the crimes tonight?"

"I'm sure the police will be able to take care of it" He said through the helmet.

"Can I ask you a question?" Wilmarie asked, "Can I see _you?_ The real you"

The Nightwatcher shifted, "Why? I'm just a mutant"

Wilmarie shook her head as she walked over to the figure in her room and took off the helmet like she did nights before. The turtle's head was turned away from her as he reluctantly looked over to the female but was surprised that she didn't look horrified or disgusted. Instead, she just smiled at him as much as she could. Raphael took a step back as he started to undress in front of her, causing Wilmarie to blush and turn away. When she didn't hear anymore rustling, she turned back around to see the same form Raph took when he came to rescue her almost 24 hours ago.

"Why did you want to see me like this?" Raphael asked.

"Because everyone in New York City knows my rescuer as the Nightwatcher, but I know him as Raphael. Is it so hard to believe that I actually want to see the one who actually did save me?"

"It's what I'm used to doing" Raph shrugged, "I was supposed to attack and then fade away into the night. Somehow things get a lot more complicated whenever you're around. I hope you know that's not a compliment"

Wilmarie rolled her one working eye at the moment, "Yeah, I know. Trust me when I tell you that I'm done with the whole wandering around at night thing. I kind of missed sleeping in. But if you want someone as a backup, you know where to go. Just don't ask anytime soon"

Raphael scoffed as he shook his head, "I don't think I'll ask at all"

"Raphael… I'm sorry for the way I acted when I first found out about you" Wilmarie confessed.

Raph quickly shook his head, "Don't worry about it"

Wilmarie just went on, "But it wasn't right. You found out about me and didn't even flinch but then when I found out about you I ran away. I shouldn't have done that. I do have to admit that I wasn't expecting an oversized turtle under that helmet. Oh!"

Wilmarie tried to steady herself as she suddenly felt drowsy and lopsided. She reached out to grab a hold of something but then noticed that Raph wrapped his arms around her. Will looked up in surprise before Raph picked her up and brought her back onto her bed. He had seen that Will had taken her pain medication before he came into the room and knew he didn't have much time to talk to her. Will shrank into the covers as he gently wrapped them around her body. Her eyes were already starting to drop as he moved away from her and towards the door.

"I should probably leave. I'm not going to let this city's safety fall through the cracks just for one girl. I just wanted to see that you were okay. I'll check back on you another night"

"Can you stay until I fall asleep?" Will asked suddenly.

Raph felt his heart skip a beat as he turned to her, "Really? I mean, yeah, yeah sure. I'll stay with you"

"Good" Wilmarie raised up the blankets, "Get in then"

At first, Raphael hesitated before he slowly sunk his body into the blankets as Wilmarie scooted back a bit. His arm automatically went around her shoulders as Will thought this was an invitation to place her head on his chest. He thought that it was be uncomfortable for her but then remembered that she took some pain relievers not too long ago. Raphael felt tense as he glanced down to Will and noticed how comfortable she was which caused him to relax a bit. He nuzzled his snout into her hair as he closed his eyes for a bit as Wilmarie's heavy breathing filled the room.


	25. Wicked Wonderland

"So it's because of this mysterious ooze that you became a huge turtle" Wilmarie summarized.

Raphael silently nodded in the dark. He had told her everything that grew to be his existence but was scared to look her in the eye. It's been three nights since Raph fell asleep in Will's bed and it awoken something inside of him that he couldn't quite control. He knew he had feelings for her but none as this strong, almost like as if every night he came over, he wished to sleep in her arms yet again. Raph formed his jaw and sighed as he tried to push back the emotions, hopefully back enough so that Will won't pick up on them herself. She finally asked about how he became everything that he is today as she sat in front of him as if he was telling her a goodnight story.

"I don't know anything about chemistry, or science stuff but I'm kind of piecing together this" Wilmarie spoke up, "Whatever was in the ooze, there has to be something that has human supplements within it. I'm only saying this because whenever I feel others emotions, I can never pick up on what animals are feeling"

Raph turned and looked to her with surprise as he forgot about what he was trying to supress. Wilmarie formed a weak smile and gave him a nod as he wondered how Donnie would've reacted to this. Knowing that turtle, he would've lost his damn mind. Raphael never put into much thought if Will could feel any other animals emotions and for the most part, he didn't really care. Too much has happened between them to think about other things than her, their friendship, and mission.

But now that all that is done, Raphael was fearing for the worst. She's probably going to go back to focusing on school, knowing that Julius will be behind bars for sure. She's going to have a normal 8 hour sleep at night and not be able to have these conversations with him anymore. It will only be a matter of time before she goes back into the normal societal life.

Raph felt something on his hand as he looked down and noticed Will picking up his hand and examining it. It was the hand where he slammed it into the mirror of his bathroom before he went out to find Will. During the rescue mission, the cuts became bigger under pressure so the wound was still visible to see.

Will asked, "When did this happen?"

"A couple of days ago" Raph mumbled, "I broke the mirror"

"Because of the way I reacted" Wilmarie finished, "I'm so sorry, Raph, I didn't mean to hurt you. I was just shocked"

"I know" Raph stated.

"What's with you today? You're barely talking. Did I do something wrong?" Wilmarie gazed at the turtle in the darkness, "I know you want to go out and be the Nightwatcher again, I kind of thought you would. It's okay if you want to go now. I understand, you don't have to babysit me anymore"

Raph glanced over to her, "What are you talking about? You think I'm here because I want to make sure you're safe? I'm here because I care about you. I know sooner or later you're going to drop back into your old lifestyle so I won't be able to see you as often. Soon enough it will be just me alone all over again"

"You care about me?"

Raph felt his heart skip a beat somewhere within his shell as he realized that he had told Will what he was thinking. He cursed under his breath as he realized that he wouldn't be able to take it back now as he looked away from her. Wilmarie's hand went under his chin as she turned it back around so that he could look at her. He stared into her green eyes as he slowly smiled down to her before it vanished.

Raph whispered, "I didn't want to mention it because I didn't want you to freak out about a mutant liking you. I mean, I only just barely got you back as a friend and all so I didn't want to push you away any further. I just screwed up big time"

"Don't call yourself that!" Wilmarie hissed in her dark room, "You're not a mutant, if you are than I am too because I'm not like any normal human being walking down the street. I have differences too remember"

"Not as big as mine" Raphael sighed, "I should probably go"

Raph was about to move when Wilmarie tugged his arm so that he flopped back down onto her bed, he looked over to her and noticed how close her face was to his as her breath warmed his face as she whispered, "Kiss me"


	26. Forgetful

The Nightwatcher hoisted the criminals up above on the street lamp post, "There! Now stay up there and think about your actions. The police will get you down in about 10 minutes or so"

"Oh, come on, we said we're sorry" a man yelled out.

The Nightwatcher shrugged, "Sorry doesn't cover it anymore"

"Oh, man!"

"I told you this was a stupid idea"

The Nightwatcher just shook his head as he went back over to his bike where it was in an old abandoned warehouse. He stopped when he noticed someone was leaning on his motorcycle as he dropped down a meteor hammer, getting ready to swing it at them. But then the person looked up as Raphael relaxed and took off his helmet. Wilmarie smiled as she straightened up, walked over to him, and kissed him on the lips. Raph placed a strong arm around her waist as he pulled her closer to him. She smiled into the kiss as she twirled her fingers around his red bandana before they broke the kiss.

Raph spoke up, "Didn't you promise me to stay home now and put the vigilante days in the past? I can't be doing my job and looking over my shoulder to you all the time"

Wilmarie chuckled and rolled her eyes as she dropped her arms down off of his neck. Of course he forgot. Raph tends to forget things when it doesn't concern fighting off New York's endless list of criminals. She dropped her stance and placed her hands on her hips as she waited for him to figure it out. When he didn't say anything, she let out a sigh and decided to remind him once again.

"We were supposed to go on a date tonight?" Wilmarie said slowly.

"Oh, man! That's right" Raphael heaved his shoulders down as he looked up to the ceiling.

"And you forgot about it. I'm going to take a wild guess and say you didn't plan anything for it either?" Wilmarie continued.

"I did have a plan! I had several plans but didn't pick which ones to act on" Raphael defended himself.

Wilmarie gave off a sarcastic nod as they both knew that that was a lie. He now juggles the life of being a turtle laying dormant waiting for his other brother to return, a vigilante known as the Nightwatcher, and a boyfriend to Wilmarie. Raph couldn't believe that he was thinking when he actually confessed to himself that the three lives tend to overlap against one another. He even hugged Donnie after he teased his brother so much on his latest invention.

Wilmarie shrugged, "I thought you did. That's why I came here looking for you. You weren't really that hard to find, I have to be honest. Your signature feelings are still there; the angst and frustration. It goes away from time to time but more remains. You never really told me why"

"Will, I told you not to do that" He told his girlfriend, "Even I don't know where it comes from half the time. It just stays in my shell"

Will asked, "Even when I'm around? That's harsh. I was hoping I would be a distraction from all of that noise in your head"

"Oh, you do more than distract. You completely kill it whenever you're around" Raph leaned down and nuzzled his head into the side of hers.

Will giggled, "Good! Cause I was hoping I did. Let's go!"

"Go where?" Raphael looked to her confused.

"Ride around until we find a quiet place" Wilmarie nodded to the bike.

"But what about the punkers out in the streets?" Raphael questioned.

"The _punkers_ are going to be the least of your worries if you choose to be the Nightwatcher tonight instead of Raphael" Wilmarie threatened.

Raphael pushed, "Meaning?"

Wilmarie bent down and picked up the motorcycle with one hand and lift it over her head like as if it was nothing. Raph dropped his helmet as he waved both of his arms out as if he would be able to catch it if she threw it. Will smirked at the change of expression written all over his face.

She gently placed the motorcycle down and looked at her boyfriend with a smug look on her face. He narrowed his eyes at her for a minute as he felt his heartbeat slowing back down to normal.

Raphael walked over and picked up a smaller helmet from the compartment in the bike.

"Glad, you changed your mind" Wilmarie hopped on.

Raphael huffed as he placed his own helmet on and drove out of the warehouse and into the City. The lights passed by so fast that it looked like they were in a time travel tunnel. He could feel Wilmarie grip tighter onto him as she always seems to do. He brought down his hand and placed it on hers for a minute as they swerved around the crowds of cars. An idea popped into his mind as he suddenly smiled to himself as he turned the motorcycle right and sped to the freeway. Wilmarie let out a slight squeal at the change of direction as she ducked her head closer to his shell.

Raph let out, "I got an idea. I know you'll love it"


	27. Dark Hazelnut

"The place is nice, Raph" Wilmarie closed her eyes and breathed in the fresh air, "I've never really seen the beach at night and under a full moon. But are you sure you'll be okay out in the open? I don't want you to expose yourself like this. It could be too dangerous"

Raph rolled his eyes and laced his arms around her waist, "Would you stop! I've been here thousands of times with my brothers. No one comes to this beach late at night. It ain't one of the popular ones that the kids go to"

Wilmarie sighed, "Fine. So when am I going to meet your brothers anyways? I mean, you talk about them a lot"

Raph cringed, "Not for a while. I like keeping you my little secret"

"Of course you do" Wilmarie smirked.

"So how do you like our date?" Raph waved out his hand to the scenery.

Wilmarie nodded, "It's a lot better than what I had in mind. I didn't even think that you would come up with something like this. No offense! I kind of like these surprises that you are capable of"

"Thanks" Raph huffed, "Being a ninja means being full of surprises. I don't think anyone's ever said they've been tired of being in a relationship with a ninja before. I'm sure you'll-"

Raph felt lips crash down on his own as his eyes slightly widened in surprise. Wilmarie had cupped his head and kissed him with a wicked smile on her lips. He smirked into her lips and kissed her back while he still had the chance. When they broke the kiss, Wilmarie stayed in his arms and stared at him a little while longer. She felt the emotion radiate from him as the word affection came into her mind. Wilmarie smiled a little bit brighter as she felt her heart do flips inside her chest.

She loved the feeling of all of this; the emotion that Raph had developed for her, the sounds of the waves, and the sense of comfort she felt with him. Will sank herself into his arms and closed her eyes just for a little bit. Ever since her kidnapping, she's felt more drawn to Raphael as she knew that she owed him her life and she was glad that she was repaying it with the love she felt inside of her. Even though he is different from the civilians in New York, she knew deep down that her father would've accepted him. Any male who is willing to put himself in danger for his daughters would always have his blessing.

"You lied, you know?" Wilmarie told him.

Raphael squinted slightly as he pulled himself out of her embrace and looked down to her. Wilmarie just stared up at him, but it felt like she was staring into his soul. He looked at her closely but it didn't seem like she was about to go on about what she meant. Even when he didn't understand what she was talking about.

"What do you mean?" Raph asked, "Did I lie about something?"

Wilmarie only chuckled as she gently lifted up her hand and stroked his read bandana. Even though her hands were dangerously close to the openings for his eyes, Raph didn't blink. He knew that she would never try to hurt him.

She finally said, "About your eyes, they aren't brown. They're more of a dark hazelnut to me"

"Dark hazelnut" Raph said slowly before he smiled, "I like the sound of that"

"Good!" Wilmarie smiled as she leaned up one more time and kissed her teenage mutant ninja turtle boyfriend on the lips.


	28. Soundtrack

You're the One- Rev Theory

I Don't Care- Apocalyptica

Say Goodbye- Rev Theory

She Loves Me Not- Papa Roach

Favorite Disease- Rev Theory

Loaded Gun- Rev Theory

Justice- Rev Theory

Never Again- Rev Theory

Wicked Wonderland- Rev Theory

Pushing Me Away- Linkin Park

Lost in You- Three Days Grace

Fly from the Inside- Shinedown

Far From Over- Rev Theory

Beautiful- 10 Years

Straight Out of Line- Godsmack


End file.
